On the occasion of this piece of satire, which hits pretty close to home: here's my impression of what happened to Fed Soc. It's just an impression--correct me where I'm wrong: 1/7 https://twitter.com/Andrew___Baker/status/1353745133703839748

1. It originated as a space for conservative legal academics and students to create solidarity. One way they did this was by staging 'debates'. Students found reassurance and were able to pocket useful bits for future arguments. 2/

2. It became a space for networking and coordinating members of the conservative legal elite. Growing nationally, it created and reinforced pathways to judicial clerkships, non profit positions, and large law firm positions. 3/

3. As the networking value increased, the system was coopted by a broader conservative legal reform movement. That movement was already focused on (among other things) appointing conservative judges. 4/

4. The national org was transformed in something like the way the NRA had been: leadership reconceived its mission as credentialing potential judicial nominees for purposes of the conservative legal reform movement. But they didn't vet them-some were extreme, others unqualified.5

5. At this point, there was an uncomfortable distance between the 'debates' and other social activities happening in local chapters and the national org, which was a platform for the expression of pretty extreme views; I think it did this to reinforce its connection to Trump. 6/

6. Some conservative legal academics still won't acknowledge what the national org has become, and describe it like the organization they joined at law school a decade or more ago. 7/7.