Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Saturday told party officials to redirect funds away from nominee Donald Trump to down-ballot candidates, according to an official informed of the decision. In practical terms, the party will be working to mobilize voters who support GOP House and Senate candidates regardless of their position on the presidential race. That means the RNC will push Floridians who support both Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio to vote. Before today, the RNC wouldn’t have sought to turn out Clinton voters, leaving split-ticket voters for Senate campaigns to target.

The GOP is, in essence, now campaigning against its own nominee, whom dozens of its elected officials have repudiated. This is unprecedented, to put it mildly. It is nothing less than the incineration of a national party and its nominee a month before the presidential election.

Those elected GOP leaders who have still not jumped ship appear morally obtuse, not to mention pathetic. One finds it hard to image the Republicans plotting their futures (e.g., Sen. Tom Cotton, Sen. Ted Cruz) will come out of this election looking like legitimate prospects for 2020.

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Vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence, who — according to friendly leaks trying to preserve the image of a good Christian — is distraught about all of Trump’s doings, is not so distraught as to step away from Trump. On Saturday, he released a campaign schedule for this week. Full steam ahead! Those suggesting he replace Trump at the top of the ticket (even if that were possible) or set himself up for a run for 2020 should reconsider. He is every bit as tainted as Trump — and does not have the excuse he is psychologically unbalanced or ignorant. He is simply opportunistic and craven.

Hillary Clinton smartly is saying absolutely nothing until the debate tonight. She’s not about to distract voters from watching Trump’s self-destruction. At the debate she would do well to remain low key, contemptuous of Trump but not angry. More in sadness than in anger should she proclaim him grossly unfit and offer herself as the only viable candidate. She’s almost certainly going to be president and will need to govern after a bruising, demoralizing election. She can start the healing process tonight.

What can we say of the GOP officials who only now stepped away from Trump — or still have not? If insulting prisoners of war, birtherism, racial and ethnic bigotry, and previous slurs against women were not enough to shake their confidence in Trump, one is entitled to ask why the latest revelations put them over the edge. They’ll have to answer for that in the days and months ahead. How would they be so blinded by partisanship as not to heed the warnings about Trump’s twisted psyche, outlandish views and unelectability?

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House Speaker Paul D. Ryan can no longer claim even to be standing with his members for the sake of unity; dozens of them are already jumping ship. He stands as a pathetic, lonely and morally compromised figure. Having failed the test of character and leadership, it’s not clear what he can offer the party in the way of leadership after the election.

As for the other members of the political hall of shame, Reince Priebus disgraced himself and sold his party and the country short by assisting Trump every step of the way. If the GOP still exists, he should be banished from holding any office, elected or otherwise. Those Republicans who have stuck with Trump to the bitter end justifying the most heinous conduct — Jason Miller, Kellyanne Conway, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), his gaggle of vile surrogates and most especially the evangelical throng that still vouches for him — should be banished from polite company. They’ve failed the most elementary test of honesty and decency.

Recent events necessitate widespread, dramatic housecleaning on the right. Forget the talk of “insiders” vs. “outsiders” or “populists” vs. “establishment Republicans.” The fundamental split is now one of character and basic decency. The future of the GOP and the conservative movement will rest with those who got it right from the get-go and refused to enable a dangerous, evil character. That includes prominent elected officials (Sens. Jeff Flake, Mike Lee and Ben Sasse, and Govs. Larry Hogan, Charlie Baker and John Kasich) and the dogged operatives and party regulars who never wavered in opposition to Trump (e.g., Rick Wilson, Tim Miller, Stu Stevens). It also includes new faces who support principled leadership and a forward-looking agenda (e.g., Evan McMullin, Rep. Adam Kinzinger) as well as experienced conservative activists (Erick Erickson, Quin Hillyer).

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Thoughtful Republicans and center-right independents need to re-examine their media outlets of choice and disown Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Breitbart and the flock of other intellectually corrupt and morally bankrupt talk-show operators who have no standing to lecture the party or country on much of anything.