Society, who, like their founder, have in the words of the late Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) fulminated "opposition to the fundamental constitutional principles as they are broadly understood in our society."

By "the end of 2005," as revealed by John Dean in Conservatives without Conscience, the successive Reagan and two Bush Presidencies had succeeded in packing 60% of the federal appellate bench. Of "the 13 circuit courts of appeal, 9 have majorities named by Republican presidents."

The counter-revolution has been especially successful in the 5th Circuit. As revealed by a recent report from the Alliance for Justice [PDF], "twelve of [the 5th Circuit's] sixteen [judges] were appointed by Republican Presidents."

The Alliance for Justice reports:

Judge Smith worked as a civil litigator at the firm Fulbright & Jaworski, where he concentrated onfederal energy litigation. He described his practice as “consist[ing] of working with groups of attorneys in various law firms representing major oil companies in lawsuits regarding the interpretation and enforcement of United States Department of Energy price and allocation regulations.”

Judge Smith served on the Texas GOP Executive Committee from 1976-1987 where he reportedly called the League of Women Voters the "plague of women voters."

The Alliance for Justice also reported that, when he was a private litigator, "Judge Davis often represented major offshore drilling and oil companies..."

While on the bench, both Judge Davis and Judge Smith have attended seminars "hosted by the Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment (FREE) in Big Sky, Montana, for which [they were] reimbursed transportation, lodging, and meal expenses. FREE is a think-tank