I am Scott Ritter. Having served as a Marine intelligence officer in the Gulf War and having spent seven years as a UN weapons inspector in Iraq, I resigned from UNSCOM when Washington refused to enforce the mandates it had written. Consequently, I know the architecture of a lie dressed as intelligence. Accordingly, Trump’s war on Iran is an illegal war of aggression: it has no domestic authorization and no international legitimacy. Notably, Susan Collins supported it when it began. At that time, she did not call it illegal; likewise, she did not call it unconstitutional. Instead, she supported it. Now, however, she campaigns on a different story. Therefore, Maine voters deserve the truth about the senator who voted for the killing and now pretends she opposed it.
The Timeline Hardens: March Against Restraint, September for a Resolution
On March 4, 2026, Collins joined nearly every Republican to block a resolution restraining Trump’s war on Iran, arguing that passing it would “send the wrong message to Iran and to our troops.” Subsequently, on September 24, the Senate voted 49–50 on a war-powers resolution, and Collins was one of four Republicans who voted yes. Accordingly, I do not question her sincerity; rather, I question her timing. According to The Washington Post, that vote came less than six weeks before the midterms. In short, she did not find the Constitution in September.
The House had already passed its version, 220 to 204, with seven Republicans joining. Collins followed. She did not lead. She calculated. Maine voters should remember the order of those votes. The first vote protected the war. The last vote was a press release.
The Purse, the Portfolio, and the Price of a Maine Winter
Collins chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. She controls the money. Her husband, Thomas Daffron, owns between $15,001 and $50,000 in Boeing stock. He holds the same range in RTX stock. He also holds ConocoPhillips stock in that range. Those companies build the weapons and sell the fuel. The couple disclosed those holdings in May 2026. Collins called Jackson’s debate accusation “absolutely outrageous” and demanded an apology.
I will not apologize. I will ask why the chair of Appropriations has held no full committee hearing on Trump’s war on Iran. She held only a budget hearing on the president’s $33 billion supplemental request. Hearings produce records. Records produce accountability. Collins prefers neither. Meanwhile, Maine’s heating oil sits at $5.97 a gallon. That price marks an 80 percent increase over last year’s $3.31. Filling a 275-gallon tank costs an additional $731.50. The war closed the Strait of Hormuz. Mainers freeze. The portfolio warms. The chairmanship covers. The vote seals it.
The Alibi Matures: “No Good Plan” Is Still Not an Indictment
At the October 13 debate, Collins said Trump “did not have a good plan” on Iran. At the October 16 final debate, she repeated her claim of “nine times” voting against the president on the war. Listen to what that criticism does not say. She does not call the war illegal. She does not call it a violation of the Constitution she swore to defend. Collins onlycalls the execution incompetent. As you see, that is not opposition.
That is a management review. If a man helps burn down a house, I do not praise him for criticizing the fire department’s response time. I hold him responsible for the fire. I heard this language in Baghdad. The war was noble; the intelligence was wrong. The war was necessary; the planning was poor. She supported the escalation of Trump’s war on Iran. She opposed restraint in March and only discovered the War Powers Act in September. That is not a profile in courage. It is a profile in positioning. She is not a statesman. She is a campaign consultant with a Senate seat.
The Poll Is the Principle, and the Calendar Is the Confession
Suffolk University released a poll on October 14 showing Jackson at 49 percent and Collins at 47. Marist showed Jackson ahead 51 to 47 on October 6. She trails. Trump’s war on Iran is unpopular. Heating oil is unaffordable. Only now does Collins speak of the war’s flaws. If you remember, Trump declared on October 9 that he will not attack Iran before the November 3 election. Collins says the plan was bad. Neither says the war was wrong.
The war is in its eighth month. Tankers are burning in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude trades near $106 a barrel. The president has paused the killing for electoral convenience. The senator has discovered oversight for the same reason. I have watched this movie before. A politician votes for the war. He funds the war. He praises the troops. Then he discovers conscience when the voters discover the cost. It is a disgusting performance. Maine voters should not applaud. They should boo.
The Verdict I Would Render as a Citizen of This Republic
Here is my verdict. Susan Collins is not a moderate. She is not an independent; rather, is a war senator who wrapped herself in the language of moderation while funding an illegal conflict. Collins had the power of the purse, and used it to sustain the killing.
She chose to call it a planning failure. She had a March vote and a September vote. The March vote is the honest one. The September vote is the campaign. The Constitution does not ask for perfection. It demands courage at the decisive moment. Collins failed that test. Maine now faces a clear choice.
It can reward a senator who voted for the war and campaigns against it. Or it can choose a challenger who has been consistent. I know what I would do. I would vote her out and would tell my neighbors in the cold and the oil bills and the dead: do not reward the conversion. Reject the performance. Never reward the war. She chose Trump’s war on Iran over Maine, over the Constitution, over the dead. Vote her out.