The SEC could label all ICO’s, IPO’s and label all tokens securities. It wouldn't really be labeling by the way, it'd be more like clarifying since everything is very muddy right now. They could then move to only allowing “Accredited Investors” to invest in ICO’s.

So, my understanding is that token offerings -- even if they are offered as security tokens -- would still be open to Reg A+ statutes so long as they are registered with the SEC.

The SEC is in place to protect investors from experiencing another "blue sky" event like the crash in the late 1920's/early 1930's in the U.S. See: Securities & Exchange Act of 1934

You can watch this session titled The Oversight Role of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to get a better idea of their thinking. They talk about broker-dealer relationships, protections for retirement savers, etc. "There will be winners, but there will be many losers." They also talk about funding terrorist groups and drug traffickers.

The content is both dense and deep. I'd not heard of the "regulatory capture" concept until this post, but I'd have to imagine the SEC is keenly aware of the potential dangers of decentralized power. They don't seem to be overstepping their boundaries; rather, I'd argue they are fully committed to protecting investors from shitty projects (people) like Centra Tech, Bitconnect, et. al.

Edit: full disclosure, I'm still learning as well :)