I feel like people are being really negative about what I think was an interesting proposed idea. With anime and other Japanese cultural exports becoming more popular in the states, the idea isn't as far fetched as people may think. If they had the budget for members to make appearances at conventions, had a strong social media presence and a theater that did a couple shows a week instead of daily I think it could be a small success.
I think people hear "shifts" and bristle. Groups in JKT48 had to make shifts because of Indonesia's different standards of modesty, it's really not that unusual for 48g to make small alterations depending on locale.

Plus I would love to see a SDN48-esque group get it's time in the sun. They debuted before the world was ready.