I've always wished that the feds were more like the Argentine Junta, slowly loosing their grip on their own people they invade an long disputed territory with assurances from a shifty politician that he will cut through the red tape only he is leading them (and half a dozen other potential obstacles to power) a merry dance.
Splitting the Republic in half and having both halves fight each other.
That way you could feel sorry for them and you could do most of it in the crawl.