The Republican-controlled Congress is underway, and so is the controversy surrounding it. After a couple of rocky days, “retribution” has been the buzzword on Capitol Hill for the new majority. But as of this afternoon, rumors are swirling that Republican leaders may be rethinking their revenge against conservatives who voted with their constituents and against the House Speaker. Angry and embarrassed, Boehner had struck back almost immediately, stripping three leaders from key committees and bills within hours of pledging to “stand tall and prove the skeptics wrong.”

But the day of reckoning meant for conservatives seemed to affect the Speaker more, as headlines of “revenge” and “paybacks” clogged the web. Yesterday, facing a storm of criticism, Speaker Boehner seemed to back off slightly, calling the moves against Reps. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), Rich Nugent (R-Fla.), and Randy Weber (R-Texas) “temporary.” Other members like Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Steve Garrett (R-N.J.), whose fate as subcommittee chairs looked bleak, may get a second chance.

“We had a situation yesterday where… two of our members weren’t put back on the Rules Committee immediately,” the Speaker admitted. “I have not had a chance to talk to them, I have not had a chance to talk to our members. But this morning, I told the members the same thing I’m saying here. We’re going to have a family conversation, which we had this morning, about bringing our team together.”

Bringing a 246-member “family” together is tough enough without introducing spite and heavy-handedness into the equation. Yet even after the media circus, some Republicans still don’t get it. Congressmen like Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) are still pushing the Speaker to exact his pound of flesh – even going so far as to consider a resolution that would “forbid people who vote against the speaker from leading subcommittees.” This is the kind of thing you’d see in a “communist country,” Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) fumed on Fox News. But, like the other 25 who didn’t vote for Boehner, he said he has “no regrets.”

“When you make a decision to do what we did, and stand up, and vote like our constituents want us to, you take the risk of consequences.” Congressman Webster knew the stakes were high, but felt he “had a message to give and an opportunity to do it – that is, I want to have a more member-driven process where every member gets an opportunity to play…”

As part of the Conservative Action Project (CAP), FRC urged House leaders to get to work unifying their party, not dividing it. In a letter picked up by Drudge, a number of our allies wrote how it was “unacceptable and disappointing to see that some conservatives are already being punished by you and your leadership team for disagreements over policy and the direction of the conference. This must end immediately. It is incumbent upon you, as the leader of Republicans in the House, to provide unifying and inclusive leadership.”

However Speaker Boehner decides to handle his dissenters will set the tone for the next two years, and potentially more. Let’s hope he embraces the same advice he gave his chamber: that we can disagree without being disagreeable.

The Florida Keys to Leadership

Some Republicans try so hard to be popular that they forget to be principled. The real leaders of the GOP are proving you can be both. While some conservatives duck down and hope their social positions won’t be noticed, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) proudly defends the values of his party – and the values of the majority of most Americans. When judges threw his state’s voters under the bus and forced same-sex “marriage” on Florida, Marco Rubio wasn’t about to back away from his convictions on the issue.

“If they wanted to change that law, they should have gone back to the legislature or back to the Constitution and try to change it. I don’t agree we should be trying to make those changes through the courts.” While other leaders dance around the issue, Senator Rubio doesn’t apologize for his position. “… I believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman.” Those who don’t, he says, need to “go through the legislature, or you go on the ballot, but I don’t agree the courts have the power to do this.”

If Americans want to know why the next generation is turning on our values, it’s because adults aren’t leading on them – and in many cases, not living by them. The same ones who say same-sex “marriage” is inevitable are inevitably letting the other side do the talking. Thank goodness for conservatives like Marco Rubio who aren’t afraid to stand up for what’s right – regardless which way the political winds are blowing.

Open Doors Says Others Are Closing on Christians

If you thought Christian persecution was bad in America, it’s nothing compared to the suffering overseas, where faith is literally a matter of life and death. The most dangerous place for Christians to be, according to Open Doors, is North Korea, where more than 70,000 men and women are languishing in prisons for their faith. As the West has watched in horror – and the nightmare becomes personal for countries like France – radical Islamists continue their march of savagery through most of the Middle East and Africa, burning schools and villages to the ground in their war against religious freedom.

And while the most terrifying nations like Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, and others continue to top the list, Open Doors President David Curry says they’re only the beginning. “Even Christian-majority states are experiencing unprecedented levels of exclusion, discrimination, and violence.”

On our radio show [Wednesday], he expanded on the plight of more than 100 million Christians, who continue to be one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world. “The 2015 World Watch List reveals that a staggering number of Christians are becoming victims of intolerance and violence because of their faith. They are being forced to be more secretive about their faith.”

As I’ve said before, it’s no coincidence that this hostility is on the rise abroad as our own country loses its voice on religious freedom at home. America’s silence is leading to a rise in the global threat. Conservative leaders like retired Rep. Frank Wolf spent the better part of the last six years begging the Obama administration to get off the sidelines and defend the persecuted church. But if the President cannot recognize the First Freedom of Americans here at home, how can he fight for the world’s?

Where the government has failed, the church must not. Although our persecuted brothers and sisters should continually be in our prayers, praying is not enough. We need to be financially supporting the vital ministries that are helping persecuted and imprisoned Christians around the globe.

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.