John Boehner is making clear to Republican House members that the four conservatives removed from committees were removed because their votes defied House leaders.There was a time when John Boehner thought otherwise and valued independence from House members. From Meet the Press on January 5, 1997, over the dissatisfaction with Newt Gingrich:

MR. RUSSERT: And with us now the Democratic whip, David Bonior of Michigan; the chairman of the House Republican Conference, John Boehner of Ohio. Gentlemen, welcome.REP. BOEHNER: Tim, good morning.REP. BONIOR: Nice to see you.MR. RUSSERT: Congressman Boehner, let me start with you. You just heard a fellow Republican say that if there was a secret ballot on Tuesday, Newt Gingrich would lose.REP. BOEHNER: Well, I don’t think that’s the case. We’ve talked to a lot of Republican colleagues, and it’s clear that Newt Gingrich will be re-elected on Tuesday. He’s admitted that he’s made mistakes. He’s willing to take his punishment. But the Ethics Committee hasn’t laid anything out that should deny Newt Gingrich being the first re-elected Republican Speaker in 68 years.MR. RUSSERT: Will any other Republican other than Michael Forbes vote against Newt Gingrich?REP. BOEHNER: I’m not sure, but it looks clear to us now that the sufficient votes are there to re-elect Newt.MR. RUSSERT: But you may have a handful of Republicans oppose him?REP. BOEHNER: I don’t know what the number’ll be. There’s only one at this point. And I hope that all of the Republican members, presented with the facts about what this case are, will, in fact, stand with Newt, because he is, in fact, our leader.MR. RUSSERT: Will Michael Forbes keep his seat on the Appropriations Committee? Will there be any other retribution against him?REP. BOEHNER: I don’t think there ought to be any retribution. All members are entitled to make their own decision. They’re all independently elected.REP. FORBES: Thank you.

But now, because House Republicans are refusing to sell out their principles and raise taxes they must be punished by John Boehner.