Not only are they expecting it to go over the cliff's edge, they are outright hoping for a collapse-level event.

They believe the only way forward is for a catastrophe to happen to make 'the masses' accept their "told you so" and will magically follow them when the time comes, that elections are broadly counter-productive because 'the masses' are, effectively, ill equipped to take care of their self-interests and need a core of 'smart people' to make the decisions for them. No where do I see how they reconcile their inability to win a contest of rhetoric but somehow win whatever decidedly less civilized power contest that would happen in such a catastrophe.

I will say I don't see a realistic chance of the 'best' outcome, even if the legislature finally is opposed to the executive branch, we are dealing with an executive branch that is willing to break laws and only 2/3rds of Senate could hold it accountable, and that's absolutely not going to happen. But it is certainly worth a shot to move the needle in the right direction.

Also, the coalition scenario doesn't play out in the American system, so we could use some unlikely seeming reforms to get there. More parties with a more sophisticated voting system and perhaps removal of directly elected executive.