[mullingitover]

> "Let the whole thing come crashing down", well, that tells us how much you really care for "the people" ... you're talking about ending the Republic.

No, I'm referring to the collusion between the two extant political parties. Political parties receive no charter in the constitution and the founders of the country generally held them in low regard, and yet they've established a stranglehold on the country. Their reign is what I'm referring to when I say "Let the whole thing come crashing down."

Edit: George Washington said it better than I can in his farewell address[1].

[1] http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Washington%27s_Farewell_Addres...

[hga]

Especially given that the two political parties include 2/3rds of the population, there's no way your preferred conflict would be limited. That's not even counting what hostile countries and non-state actors would do to us while we're tearing apart the nation. What do you see as the end state after the two parties "get the knives out on each other"?

Given that this is how people always organize themselves in the post-monarchical period (significant counter examples welcome, but of course one party states don't count), it's fatuous to imagine that we'd see anything in the vague direction of the Founder's idealism (well, I'm sure some realized they'd develop, as they did rather quickly, especially after Washington left the national stage (heh, which I drafted before seeing your addition)). After those knives spill enough blood, it's doubtful there'd even be a reconciliation.

[mullingitover]

> Especially given that the two political parties include 2/3rds of the population, there's no way your preferred conflict would be limited.

I think you wildly overestimate how passionately partisan the citizenry of this country really is. The majority of the population isn't even invested enough in their chosen party to make their way into a voting booth every couple of years to fill out a few checkboxes. Do you actually believe that these resigned, apathetic people are going to take up arms against each other simply because their leaders were revealed to be criminals?