Posted on 06/15/2011 10:11:00 PM PDT by NoLibZone
A fight broke out Wednesday on the Assembly floor as Assemblyman Warren Furutani confronted Assemblyman Don Wagner over comments deemed offensive.
The two members jawed angrily in each other's faces before Furutani appeared to give Wagner a shove, prompting several colleagues to separate them in the final minutes of Wednesday's budget session.
The dispute brought the house to a standstill for a couple minutes during debate over a controversial redevelopment plan.
The two-bill proposal compels redevelopment agencies to backfill state coffers and give money to local governments under threat of elimination. Wagner, R-Irvine, testified that it was comparable to a Sopranos shakedown scheme, referring to the popular HBO show, "The Sopranos."
That prompted Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, to demand an apology for the Sopranos reference "as a proud Italian American."
Wagner retorted that he'd "apologize to any Italian Americans who are not in the Mafia and engaged in insurance scams," setting off a murmur among lawmakers.
Minutes later, Furutani and Wagner were in each other's faces and had to be broken up by three other lawmakers. The back of the Assembly chamber was soon flooded with legislative aides who came to see the commotion.
The California Channel has footage of the debate and confrontation here. (Confrontation begins around the 5:17 mark.)
Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, an Italian American, also talked to Wagner about his comments. Gatto said he wasn't offended by the first Sopranos reference but that the apology was offensive.
"He came and talked with me afterward, and he still does not seem to understand why it came out so wrong," Gatto said. "I told him to watch the tape."
Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/06/california-budget-assembly-furutani-wagner.html#ixzz1PPbHOrXc
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.sacbee.com ...
I didn’t see anything wrong with the comments.
So, the Dem fired the first shot? I say, take the gloves off, boys.
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It was an analogy to a fictional mafia show.
Government is damn near, if not, a mafia type of organization.
California legislature provides more entertainment then the Sopranos ever did but yeah apologizing Italian Americans excepting those involved in the mafia or Insurance scams......;..kind of a dud comment.
The Soprano reference wasn’t offensive at all,the apology much like the Assembly if not the whole State was something else.
"The two-bill proposal compels redevelopment agencies to backfill state coffers and give money to local governments under threat of elimination."
The Sopranos would be proud to call themselves California Democrats.
And let them have at it at close quarters....
Take some pointers from Michell la Belle in shovel weilding here:
I've seen this Rwanda photo before. She Hutu or Tutsi? Can't recall but far more shovels and pangas than firearms were used in that horrible massacre.
Warren Furutani was formerly on the Board of Trustees of the LA Community College District.
Good to see the RATS are getting a little nervous.
It’s time for THEM to “Compromise” -— not the CA Repubs.
CA RATS are corrupt teacher-union mouthpieces.
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