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Sen. Mike Lee says toxic U.S. politics will ultimately lead to widespread violence unless the country returns power to the states

The country’s strident “good vs. evil” style of national politics has become so toxic that it is sure to lead to violence on a large scale unless it embraces federalism, warns Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

The continuous political war that holds out winner-take-all as the ultimate prize in a deeply divided nation has created “a sort of constitutional dirty bomb that threatens the foundations of our republic,” the conservative politician said to a warmly receptive Federalist Society convention audience on Thursday.

A constitutional scholar who was swept into office by the tea party in 2010, Lee said political rhetoric and rancor has reached such a fever pitch that it’s “driving our politics toward violence.