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When Donald Trump signed a 鈥渓oyalty pledge鈥� with great fanfare last September promising to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee, few took him seriously.聽

Because no one tells Mr. Trump what to do. He even said so at the time.聽

Now Trump has formally rescinded his pledge, and the remaining GOP competitors 鈥撀燭exas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich 鈥撀爃ave come close, refusing to say whether they would honor their own loyalty pledges at a CNN town hall Tuesday night.

In a way, the death of the pledge is merely symbolic. It鈥檚 already been clear for some time that the Grand Old Party is coming apart at the seams, with a presidential front-runner who barely adheres to Republican philosophy and yet commands a big, loyal following.

But that symbolism is important. After all, what is the point of having a political party, if its members don鈥檛 intend to support one another?

The unraveling of the pledge is 鈥渃larifying,鈥� says Republican strategist Ford O鈥機onnell. 鈥淚t tells us how much these men can鈥檛 stand each other.鈥�

The reasons go deeper than mere personal pique. The end of the pledge speaks to the hollowness in the very soul of the Republican Party. A sizable slice of GOP voters are so fed up with business as usual they鈥檙e willing to take a chance on a political novice with some unorthodox views (for a Republican) and whom many women and minorities find offensive.

The pledge鈥檚 demise is premised on the possibility of a Trump nomination. When asked about the pledge in the CNN town hall, Cruz said he was 鈥渘ot in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and attacks my family.鈥� Kasich also hedged: "If the nominee is somebody that I think is really hurting the country, and dividing the country, I can't stand behind them, but we have a ways to go."

A logical answer might be for Cruz and Kasich to form a strategic alliance, in an effort to knock out Trump. But that鈥檚 not in the works. Each believes he should be the nominee, coming out of a contested convention. And they鈥檙e not a good fit stylistically or ideologically: Cruz is a hard-line conservative who does not brook compromise, while Kasich is more mainstream, with a history of working across the aisle.

Taken as a group, the three remaining GOP candidates represent a microcosm of today鈥檚 fractious Republican Party 鈥撀燼nd given the underlying animosity, there鈥檚 little hope for comity.

鈥淭his is a party that looks like it鈥檚 headed for a crackup,鈥� says Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not going to support one another, and if they issued a new pledge it wouldn鈥檛 mean anything.鈥�

鈥淚f Trump gets the nomination, millions of mainstream Republicans will not vote for him,鈥� Professor Sabato adds. 鈥淚f Cruz gets it, millions of Trump supporters will not vote for him.鈥�

Normally, loyalty pledges don鈥檛 even come up during presidential primaries. Loyalty is assumed, and a given. But this cycle isn鈥檛 normal. Trump鈥檚 incursion into the race brought the issue to the fore, amid speculation that he would run as an independent if he didn鈥檛 get the nomination - and didn鈥檛 feel the Republican National Committee was treating him 鈥渇airly.鈥�

Trump鈥檚 definition of 鈥渦nfair鈥� implies a scenario in which he goes into the convention with the most delegates (but not a majority) and does not win the nomination. That could happen. But whether Trump is willing to spend the money and mount the organization necessary to pull off a credible independent bid is an open question.

So for now, it would appear, 鈥渓oyalty鈥� has given way to 鈥渆very man for himself.鈥� And it's the Republican Party that loses.