The Maccabees' Argument for Continuity

The Sadokites would argue for their continuity through time. But if you think about it, it makes little sense that they changed things because their whole thing was not changing. You need some justification to unseat a high priest of the temple after 400 years. Could a better description be something like, the Sadducees are actually conservative in that they want to conserve the ancient tradition they claimed to represent? And the Maccabees are the ultra conservatives. They're the ultraists who say that, no, you do not preserve the tradition. We are the true preservers of the tradition which you have abandoned.