The GOPe is fine with that. They want to return to the days of being a permanent minority. There will be still gobs of money for them, but they won't have to worry about pesky things like governing or explaining to their Democrat betters how the conservatives got out of their cages.
You have to look at what they're doing not from the standpoint of a party trying to win, but from the standpoint of a set of elites maintaining their standing within the larger elite club.
Sadly, you are probably spot on there.