Republicans have pulled off a coup

Republicans have pulled off a coup against an entire branch of government, and nobody seems to have noticed. But if you pay attention, it’s shocking. Sometimes you can learn as much from attending to what Republicans suddenly stop saying as from what they are talking about. In this case, it’s their half-century-long obsession with convening a constitutional convention to rewrite the US Constitution. Under Article V of our Constitution, when two-thirds of the states formally call for a “con-con” to rewrite our nation’s founding document, it officially comes into being. They can then make small changes like enshrining the right of billionaires and corporations to bribe judges and politicians, or insert the doctrine of corporate personhood into the document, or simply throw the whole thing out and start over. Many on the right are hoping to insert a national ban on abortion into a new constitution; others want to end the right of women to vote, do away with all antidiscrimination laws, outlaw labor unions, or return the selection of senators to the states. So far, 19 Republican-controlled states have signed on to a call for for a convention under Article V. The project, heavily funded by rightwing billionaires, even has its own website: conventionofstates.com. Consider just a sampling of recent GOP supporters of the project: — Senator Marco Rubio: “One of the things I’m going to do on my first day in office is I will put the prestige and power of the presidency behind a constitutional convention of the states.” — Governor Greg Abbott: “We need a Convention of States to restore the rule of law in America.” — Governor Ron DeSantis: “An Article V Convention of States is the best way to bring power back to the states and the people.” — Congressman Jodey Arrington: “We need to go back to our founding document, back to our Constitution, and put the restraints on Congress that our founders intended.” — Senator Ted Cruz: “An Article V Convention of States is a powerful tool given to us by the Founders to rein in the federal government.” — Senator Rand Paul: “I’m a big fan of the Convention of States project. I think it’s the solution to Washington’s overreach.” But over the past year, Republicans have suddenly fallen silent on the issue. Project 2025, for example, the all-encompassing wish-list for the GOP and its billionaire owners, lacks even one single mention of a constitutional convention.