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Graham Platner Hits Back At Susan Collins' Dig Over Enlisting In Military

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Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner escalated his feud with incumbent rival Susan Collins on Thursday, after the Maine Republican pushed back against the combat veteran's claim she sent him to "die in Iraq" by saying it was Platner's choice to enlist.

"Susan Collins voted to support starting the war in Iraq. On three occasions after that, she voted against withdrawing troops. On at least two occasions, she voted to fund the war," Platner said in a video posted to social media.

"Now all these years later, instead of acknowledging that she was wrong, she's decided that she's going to blame those of us who in our late teens and early 20s signed up to serve our country," he continued. "That somehow it's our fault that she and establishment politicians like her wanted to abuse our willingness to serve, to go send us off to fight in stupid wars that did nothing but make some people very, very rich at the expense of American taxpayer dollars."

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Collins had criticized Platner earlier Thursday for saying she sent him to die when he voluntarily enlisted twice after the war was authorized, then joined private military contractor Blackwater after his service was up.

"I respect anyone who steps forward to serve their country, but the fact is that was Platner's decision to serve," she said. "He was not drafted."