Carter is a Republican. Gary is a Democrat.

They met in 1984, during the epic U.S. Senate battle between Jesse Helms and Jim Hunt. Carter worked for Helms and Gary, for Hunt.

Years later, they became friends. They even worked together on some nonpolitical clients.

They enjoy talking about politics. So they started this blog in 2005.

They’re still talking. And they invite you to join the conversation.

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Carter Wrenn

Gary Pearce 2024

Gary Pearce

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Democrats’ Country Road

By Gary Pearce October 14, 2025

Rural North Carolina is unfriendly territory for Democrats, but we can gain ground there – and that will help us statewide. That’s my takeaway from a recent poll of 684 voters in 46 rural counties. By 63-27%, those voters had an unfavorable view of the party: When they hear “Democratic Party” they think about Democrats…

War and Peace

By Gary Pearce October 10, 2025

It’ll be good if Trump helps end the war in Gaza. It’ll be even better if he stops making war on half the United States.

Trump’s Assault on Freedom

By Gary Pearce October 9, 2025

Along with the government shutdown, Trump is shutting down freedom in America. If you think that’s hyperbole, read his “National Security Presidential Memorandum Number 7,” issued on September 25. Trump didn’t write it, of course. He probably can’t even read it. It’s likely the product of Dr. Evil, his aide Stephen Miller (photo). It unleashes…

A Picture of Politics Today

By Carter Wrenn October 8, 2025

Growing up in Brooklyn, after college she worked two years in New York City, then went to law school – working for Ken Starr during the Clinton scandal she deposed Monica Lewinsky. She married, settling in Portland – George Bush made her a U.S. Attorney. Dark-haired, practical, leading prosecutors, sitting in courtrooms she made it…

A Raid

By Carter Wrenn October 6, 2025

An old man sitting at home in his apartment at night heard explosions, voices shouting in the hallway; soldiers wearing combat fatigues broke down his door, surrounded him, handcuffed him using zip-ties – only it turned out they weren’t soldiers they were ICE agents. He told them he was an American citizen – puzzled, asked…

MAGA Golf

By Gary Pearce October 5, 2025

A reader, an avid golfer, was struck by the boorish behavior of American fans at last weekend’s Ryder Cup – and what it says about Trump’s America. He wrote, “I’m surprised no one has commented (at least that I’ve seen) on the embarrassing Ryder Cup debacle from the perspective of what it reveals about the…

1884

By Carter Wrenn October 3, 2025

‘There is nothing new under the sun.’ Was Solomon right when he said that? Does history repeat itself? After ruling Washington for a generation, from the Civil War through the Gilded Age, in 1884 Republicans ran James Blaine – the epitome of a Washington insider – for President. Democrat Grover Cleveland grabbed an issue he…

Who Expected to See This?

By Carter Wrenn October 2, 2025

It came as a surprise. Followed by another surprise. Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social the FBI had placed 274 agents in the crowd on January 6 who were ‘probably acting as agitators and insurrectionists’ – laying the blame for the riot on the FBI. What happened next was a bigger surprise: The same day,…

Ocracoke to Harvard

By Gary Pearce October 2, 2025

It’s not easy to get to Ocracoke from Raleigh. It’s even harder to get from Ocracoke to Harvard. But Katie Kinnion (photo) did it – thanks to North Carolina’s public schools. I read about her during our two-hour-plus ferry ride from Swan Quarter across Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke last week. You have to take a…

Getting the News

By Gary Pearce March 13, 2026

How do you get your news? Our statewide poll asked North Carolina voters what their primary…

MAGA-gator

By Gary Pearce March 12, 2026

Thom Tillis and Phil Berger fed the MAGA alligator. Then it ate them. Thomas Mills wrote…

Enough is Enough

By Gary Pearce March 11, 2026

Exactly 80 years ago, in 1946, Republicans took control of Congress with a simple message: “Had…