The legislators, most of whom have at least feigned respect in the face of these outbursts in the past, were obviously fed up with the game. The speech ended with silence - not even a smattering of applause from Republicans or Democrats. Three weeks later, almost every proposal in the governor's agenda was dead. As the second term of Mississippi's only Republican governor this century comes to a close, Mr Fordice's story offers a lesson in how not to get things done in southern politics. The conservative agenda on which he was elected remains virtually nonexistent in law, defeated over and over again by lawmakers he antagonised.
Democrats are sick and tired of being publicly abused by the state's leader.
Republicans, who have in the past tried to gather support for his ideas, are frustrated. As a whole, they routinely override Fordice vetoes. In fact, Republican legislators say that their relationship with the governor is no better than his relationship with Democrats. Only rarely since 1991 have party leaders met Mr Fordice to discuss their agenda, so Fordice vetoes in some cases are just as surprising to them. He simply does not see us as a resource . . .