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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A Piano and a Whorehouse

By Carter Wrenn October 15, 2025

“My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. To tell the truth there’s hardly any difference.”                                     – President Harry Truman “Politics is supposed to be the second…

An Odd Tale

By Carter Wrenn October 14, 2025

Hard face, narrow eyes, Tom Homan looks tough. The day Trump took office he gave Homan a nickname: The ‘Border Czar,’ put him in charge of ICE. A cloud floated over the horizon. Down the street from the White House, in the Justice Department, Trump Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove found out the FBI was…

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…

Obama 48-Trump 39

By Gary Pearce April 26, 2026

A new nationwide poll shows that, if they could run against each other in 2028, Barack…

“Conservative Successes”?

By Gary Pearce April 23, 2026

Senator Phil Berger was out of touch with voters in his district – and suffered the…

Rise and Fall

By Gary Pearce April 21, 2026

A reassuring lesson from our trip to Germany and Czechia is that dictators, despots and tyrants…