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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Looking Over His Shoulder

By Carter Wrenn April 20, 2017

Watching Sean Hannity’s like watching a celebrity say the same thing over and over – it wears out quickly. But somehow, Bill O’Reilly wasn’t hum-drum – he had a knack for entertainment. So, did O’Reilly’s sins catch up with him? Fox News says Yes. He’s guilty and gone. O’Reilly says not so – that the…

Bannon’s fall = Democrats’ opening

By Gary Pearce April 17, 2017

It’s good that Steve Bannon has been eclipsed in the court of the Sun King. By all accounts, he’s a hate-spewing, fear-mongering, immigrant-bashing, Muslim-banning, dark force. But Bannon did have one important insight into today’s politics. And Democrats should take heed of it. Bannon has a clear focus on the anger that millions of Americans…

Rx: the Democrats

By Gary Pearce April 13, 2017

Second of two parts More than 25 years ago, a little-known college president was running what looked like a hopeless U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania. He was Harris Wofford, a Democrat. He was running against Richard Thornburgh, a former Governor and United States Attorney General. Wofford’s own polls showed him 40 points behind. Thornburgh had…

Rx: the Republicans

By Gary Pearce April 12, 2017

First of two parts Since Obamacare passed in 2009, Republicans have attacked it. For eight years, they called it a “job killer” and a “disaster” that created “death panels.” Through four election campaigns – 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 – they promised to repeal it. And replace it with something better, cheaper and, as Comrade…

Hillbilly Elegy

By Carter Wrenn April 11, 2017

Gary told me, Read Hillbilly Elegy – it’ll make you see things you’ve been staring at for years in a different light. The story – a memoir – starts when a pregnant thirteen-year-old girl marries a sixteen-year-old boy and moves from Kentucky’s Appalachian Mountains to Middleton, Ohio in the late 1940’s. He went to work…

Save us, Ivanka

By Gary Pearce April 10, 2017

Things have come to a pretty pass. We’re reduced to hoping that Ivanka and Jared can save us. Now we see why Czar Putin wanted Comrade Trump to be President. He figured it’s the best way to cripple America. Three months in, Trump’s administration has shown us almost nothing but incompetence and infighting. Incompetence is great…

A Welter of Echoes

By Carter Wrenn April 10, 2017

Each roar lasts a second. But the echoes last days. Mexico wins. We lose. China wins. We lose. Wall Street wins. We lose. Washington Politicians win. We lose. Each had mantra-like precision. Each echoed across twitter, cable news, and newspaper headlines. Once, when Obamacare repeal failed, two mantras collided head-on. The President tweeted: The Democrats…

Old Virtue

By Carter Wrenn April 7, 2017

He was born a gambler. And he worked hard. He made a fortune, lost a fortune, and made another bigger fortune. Most men in his profession – he built skyscrapers – shunned the lime-light but he enjoyed celebrity and accepted an offer to star in a reality show and found he had a unique talent:…

Sports and HB2

By Gary Pearce April 5, 2017

Roy Williams won another NCAA title. And Roy Cooper may have won us more NCAAs. Which highlights the big part that sports played in the HB2 repeal. Give the NCAA and ACC credit for an assist. Point to them. They stood up and spoke out against HB2 from the start. For that they got grief…

Independents Turn Against GOP

By Gary Pearce March 17, 2026

North Carolina voters don’t like either the Democratic or Republican parties. But Independent voters – who…

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…