Revenge of the GOP losers

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America is experiencing a visitation from the Ghosts of Republican Primaries Past.

First came Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday, rampaging through the hearing for President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson, with questions like "Do you think Putin is a war criminal? Well, let me describe the situation in Aleppo."

Then came the news that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could be responsible for a bombshell dossier alleging Trump's collusion with Russia and the existence of potentially embarrassing tapes that could be used by the Kremlin to blackmail the incoming president. "The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that [former MI6 officer Christopher] Steele was initially hired by Jeb Bush, one of Trump's 16 opponents in the 2016 Republican primary," Reuters reported. "It was not immediately possible to verify the BBC's report."

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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), meanwhile, has managed to convince Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) not to kill him on the Senate floor. Which isn't quite revenge, per se, but it ought to count for something.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.