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| Conversation peace: how a talking stick helped end the government shutdown | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Susan Collins insisted that a group of fellow senators seeking a compromise use the stick to indicate who had the right to speak | Susan Collins insisted that a group of fellow senators seeking a compromise use the stick to indicate who had the right to speak |
| Amanda Holpuch | Amanda Holpuch |
| Tue 23 Jan 2018 17.08 GMT | |
| First published on Tue 23 Jan 2018 16.31 GMT | |
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| To resolve the federal government shutdown, Congress resorted to an ancient tool: a stick. | To resolve the federal government shutdown, Congress resorted to an ancient tool: a stick. |
| Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, held a meeting with about two dozen lawmakers in her office. Senators who wanted to speak, she told reporters, were only allowed to do so if they were holding a special stick. | Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, held a meeting with about two dozen lawmakers in her office. Senators who wanted to speak, she told reporters, were only allowed to do so if they were holding a special stick. |
| Collins would then take the stick from one senator and give it to the next who wanted to speak. | Collins would then take the stick from one senator and give it to the next who wanted to speak. |
| “As you can imagine, with that many senators in a room, they all want to talk at once,” Collins told reporters on Monday. “I know that shocks you.” | “As you can imagine, with that many senators in a room, they all want to talk at once,” Collins told reporters on Monday. “I know that shocks you.” |
| The stick was described by the New York Times as “a Masai tribal talking stick”, a gift to Collins, a centrist Republican, from Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota. | The stick was described by the New York Times as “a Masai tribal talking stick”, a gift to Collins, a centrist Republican, from Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota. |
| “Sometimes people passed it person to person but generally I tried to control the stick,” Collins said. | “Sometimes people passed it person to person but generally I tried to control the stick,” Collins said. |
| The bipartisan group involved was credited with helping end the shutdown, after discussing potential compromises and raising them with Senate leadership. | The bipartisan group involved was credited with helping end the shutdown, after discussing potential compromises and raising them with Senate leadership. |
| Chris Cuomo wasn’t impressed with Susan Collins’ stick @ChrisCuomo pic.twitter.com/9duitmZHHs | Chris Cuomo wasn’t impressed with Susan Collins’ stick @ChrisCuomo pic.twitter.com/9duitmZHHs |
| Talking sticks have been an effective tool for indigenous cultures in Africa and North America for centuries. The senators, though, struggled to adapt to such a simple process. | Talking sticks have been an effective tool for indigenous cultures in Africa and North America for centuries. The senators, though, struggled to adapt to such a simple process. |
| According to Politico, a glass elephant on a shelf in Collins’ office was chipped after Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, “forcefully tossed” the stick to Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, after Warner interrupted him. | According to Politico, a glass elephant on a shelf in Collins’ office was chipped after Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, “forcefully tossed” the stick to Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, after Warner interrupted him. |
| Shortly after that, the senators switched from the stick to a rubber ball. | Shortly after that, the senators switched from the stick to a rubber ball. |
| US Senate | US Senate |
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