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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After Six Years of Howling…

By Carter Wrenn December 6, 2017

The politicians are hollering, again, about redistricting – about the new State House and Senate district maps drawn by the federal judges ‘Special Mapmaker.’ But look beneath the surface: What’s surprising is how few districts changed. And how little those districts changed. The News and Observer analyzed the new maps: One district changed from .4%…

A Place Miracles Still Happen

By Carter Wrenn December 5, 2017

When Kate McClure ran out of gas on an exit ramp in Philadelphia, Johnny Bobbitt, a homeless man, walked toward her car in the darkness, said, Lock your doors, then walked to a gas station and returned with $20 in gas. Bobbitt, a paramedic, had moved to Philadelphia for a job but the job fell…

Bankrupt GOP

By Gary Pearce December 4, 2017

Set aside what the Republican tax bill does to people and the economy. Look at how they passed it, why they did it and what it says about who they are. House and Senate Republicans rushed through massive bills that affect the entire economy – with no hearings, no transparency and none of John McCain’s…

A Penny

By Carter Wrenn December 4, 2017

Ambling out the door, crossing the lawn to the waiting helicopter, the President stopped as the reporters shouted questions: Did he support Roy Moore? Did he believe Roy Moore’s accusers? Is an accused child molester better than a Democrat? In a Trumpian flurry he answered, Well, he denies it. Look, he denies it…He totally denies…

This should do the trick

By Gary Pearce December 1, 2017

The Republican tax bill should pretty much cinch a big Democratic year in 2018. The bill does exactly what Americans suspect Republicans want to do: reward their big donors at the expense of everybody else. When you take away a tax break for teachers who pay out of their pockets for school supplies – and…

A Simple Fact

By Carter Wrenn November 30, 2017

There’re a lot of reasons for blindness: Fear, Innocence and hard whiskey are three. For former UNC Law School Dean Gene Nichol, when he sat down to read exit polls in the Washington Post, I suspect the problem may have been Ideology. He’s Politically Correct – for example, when he was President of William and…

Pixelated

By Carter Wrenn November 29, 2017

The day after Thanksgiving President Trump tweeted “Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named ‘Man (Person) of the Year’ like last year…I said probably is no good and took a pass.” An official at Time tweeted back there wasn’t a ‘speck of truth’ in Trump’s tweet. And the internet…

Race, rage and Democrats

By Gary Pearce November 22, 2017

My last blog quoted Jim Messina, President Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, on Trump’s tweets. There’s another point in Messina’s article that deserves attention: “…(A) debate has developed within some of the Democratic Party about whether we should focus on the white working-class voters or what pollsters call the ‘rising American electorate,’ which is usually defined…

You Won’t Believe Who’s Not a Good Democrat

By Carter Wrenn November 21, 2017

Well, Gary, I never dreamed I’d see it: I opened the newspaper and Democrats were saying Jim Hunt is not a good Democrat. The Democratic Party endorsed Nancy McFarlane, an Independent, in her previous races for Mayor but this time the party switched and endorsed Charles Francis – but Governor Hunt stayed with McFarlane, so…

Political Shots Fired

By Gary Pearce April 28, 2026

The political sniping began even as chaos still reigned at the White House Correspondents Dinner. My…

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…