tony rand

Just when you thought there weren't enough battles for us to fight, the wildfire of insurance company greed is spreading again in North Carolina. With the flames being fanned by NC Senator Tony Rand, North Carolina's automobile insurers are eager to let the market do its magic. This is going to be a long, hard fight, and before it goes nuclear, make sure you know who's on which side. It's actually pretty simple. The leadership in the North Carolina Senate is generally on the side of insurance companies making more profits, and Insurance Commissioner Jim Long is generally on the side of we the people.

I've been puzzled by the antics of Tony Rand lately, a once-decent progressive who seems to have drunk some dark-side kool-aid. And now there's Janet Cowell (whom I've supported in the past) going off the deep end.

According to the Dome blog she's in favor of cutting the taxes on rich North Carolinians - and also likes the $1.2 billion in Certificates of Participation funding pushed through the Senate to build more buildings in the UNC system. Maybe I'm losing it, but it's hard to understand where Cowell is coming from. Very hard.

From where I sit, the North Carolina Senate pretty much sucks.

Dear Senator Rand,

Why am I having trouble believing anything you say lately? Maybe it's because most of what you're saying sounds like total bullshit? Unless, of course, your hometown paper is putting words in your mouth.

Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat, said the Senate’s proposed debt doesn’t leave much room for additional debt. “Until we find a source of revenue to pay those things, we’re kind of tapped out because of the borrowing for schools and prisons,” Rand said. “Truth be told, we probably spent too much.”

Rand supports the land preservation bills and is among the Senate co-sponsors. “We’ll certainly do what we can. It’s a most worthwhile bill,” he said. “I hope we can do it.”

You hope? Excuse me, but aren't you the MAJORITY leader in the Senate? If you hadn't voted to cut income taxes on the wealthiest in North Carolina, you wouldn't be in this disgusting situation in the first place.

Dcobranchi asked the right questions earlier this week in response to Tony Rand's puzzling proposals to gut consumer protections against the insurance industry. Wayne Goodwin, Assistant Commissioner of Insurance, weighed in on the issue this morning here at BlueNC.

Now the News and Observer has jumped in with both feet, with a great editorial.

Perhaps Jim Long, North Carolina's insurance commissioner, kicked state Sen. Tony Rand's dog, or scratched the majority leader's shiny new car. Why else would Rand introduce legislation to strip Long of his power to rule on auto, home and workers' comp insurance rates? Or could it be that the insurance industry sought out Rand to scuttle a system that works fine for North Carolina customers -- and, by the way, for the bottom lines of insurance companies operating in the state. The bill is clearly a case of fixing what isn't broke. It should die quietly.

Rep. David Price is a very popular man here at BlueNC, and well he should be. However, one person we don't pay enough attention to is his wife, Lisa Price. I've never met the woman. I wouldn't know her if she walked up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. However, what I do know is that she is executive director of the North Carolinians Against Gun Violence Education Fund, and that is enough for my great admiration and warm regard.

Gun violence in North Carolina is a terrible problem. Firearm death rates in North Carolina track substantially ahead of the national average, accounting for about 1,200 deaths per year. Even more tragic is that gun violence is disproportionately visited upon the young. In a typical year about 55 out of 100,000 North Carolinians between 15 and 24 will be the victims of a fatal shooting. Every five days a child in North Carolina under the age of 17 dies as a result of gun injury.

All of this is sad, but North Carolina is guilty of a second scandal with grave national implications. Our gun laws are so lax that we've become notorious as an exporter of illegal firearms to states with gun laws more rational than our own.

Tony Rand and other Senators mocked House ethics proposals yesterday rivaling Jim Black in contempt for State election laws.

"The candidate doesn't know because he's kissing babies and hugging folks. And somebody else is over there with the jar." - Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, about whether candidates are keeping track who is giving to their campaigns during low-key fundraising events in which guests make small cash contributions.

The candidate doesn't know because he's kissing babies and hugging folks