Ideologies are preconscious explanations and rationale for guiding social action. In the political realm, ideologies provide the concepts and theories for policy, shape public discourse, and thus may become a form of rhetoric by which some groups attempt to pursuade others in the value of their ideas. Hence, ideologies become one instrument in political struggle; they embody power contests between competing world views, policies, and practices. In recent years, such a contest has occurred in the judicial realm, as legal fundamentalists have attempted to revise the history of Constitutional law as a means of implementing and solidifying political advantage. This paper examines "legal fundamentalism," as exemplified particularly by Attorney General Edwin Meese, as an example of how historical interpretations reflect new ideologies that in turn have become transformed into a form of political rhetoric. 37 references. (Author abstract)