They certainly were. The question is: to what extent? In fact, this is the precise topic of my senior (undergraduate) thesis and the more I read about it, the more I realize just how complex a question it really is, since for any given Revolutionary, the use of Antiquity is filtered through their education, what they've read, their political views, the current situation, etc. As to Cicero in particular, his chief influence was stylistic, the basis of education in 18th century France being Latin and rhetoric and the master of Latin rhetoric being Cicero. Although most of them certainly weren't averse to accusing their enemies of being Catiline from time to time...

Sadly, most people blindly believe what they are told.
You're right, alas! There's not enough emphasis on critical thinking in education... which, I hate to say, is not exactly a coincidence.