This is curious:

A second day of deadlock shows the faults in McCarthy’s whip operation.

The historic debacle on the House floor that has cost Representative Kevin McCarthy six votes for the speakership raised serious questions about the vote-counting abilities of the California Republican...

Well, in fairness..."counting abilities"... (?) Nuff said.

When Mr. McCarthy has attempted to cajole dissident lawmakers of late, it has largely been in groups, according to lawmakers and aides, rather than in the arm-twisting one-on-one meetings that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat, made a hallmark of her tenure and that proved so effective in corralling her rank-and-file.

In groups? 

Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the Freedom Caucus and one of the ringleaders of the dissenters, said he had not met with Mr. McCarthy one on one since lawmakers began voting for speaker.

And rather than winning any converts, his final pitch to lawmakers behind closed doors on Tuesday morning before the initial vote for speaker, in which he framed their demands as unreasonable and argued that he had “earned” the top post, appears to have stirred even more discontent among the rebels.

“There were some members that felt very disrespected,” said Representative-elect Anna Paulina Luna of Florida. “And it pushed them into a category that — I don’t think they’ll ever vote for him.”

Putting myself in a Taliban's sandals, yeah, I can see that: Never Kevin. I don't think he's ever gonna get 218.

Both on Tuesday and Wednesday, McCarthy rarely left his seat on the House floor in between or during votes, staying put and gazing intently at his phone while he left it to emissaries — both staff and allies like his whip, Representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota, and Patrick McHenry of North Carolina — to buttonhole the defectors. 

Instead, the number of Republicans voting against Mr. McCarthy only grew; on the fourth ballot, Representative Victoria Spartz of Indiana, who had previously supported the California Republican, switched her vote to present, saying she wanted Mr. McCarthy to meet with more lawmakers and address their concerns.

I would have thought that went without having to be said..but, I mean, the guy can't count to start with.