The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 1/22/8
Republican Gov. Haley Barbour and House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, who have at times butted heads in the legislative process, appeared to offer olive branches to each other Monday night.
Directing his comments to the 33 new members of the Mississippi Legislature during his State of the State speech, Barbour said, “You’ll learn that when I called Billy McCoy my friend, I meant it. And you’ll find a lot can be, indeed, has been accomplished by working together.”
Early in the afternoon before Barbour spoke, McCoy urged members of the House to attend the State of State address “to show respect for the governor.”
After the speech, McCoy said, “I thought he made a good overall assessment of where we have been and where we need to go.”
