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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HB2 courage

By Gary Pearce April 3, 2017

Governor Cooper and Democratic legislators showed something last week that is so rare in America today we hardly know it when we see it. Political courage. Political courage is when you do what you believe is right. Even if it disappoints your strongest supporters. Even if it could cost you an election. Name another politician…

Tricks

By Carter Wrenn March 29, 2017

In Donald Trump’s world whatever he says cannot be wrong. He’s infallible. Because as Trump says, I know how life works. And, if you ask, Trump will give you proof of his infallibility: He’ll explain how he predicted the outcome of the Brexit vote in advance and how he predicted – a hundred times –…

Unraveling

By Carter Wrenn March 28, 2017

Day in and day out for years I sat in meetings watching and listening to men who lived and breathed politics and, almost to a man every one looked on telling a lie (or, more precisely, being caught telling a lie) as a risk they dreaded. A lie was like a cancer. It could grow…

HB2 bracket busters

By Gary Pearce March 28, 2017

Predicting politics is like filling out NCAA brackets: Your predictions and your brackets will get busted. EG: Who predicted the Republican debacle on health care? Nobody. Which explains why Republicans and Democrats alike are thrashing on an HB2 compromise. Republicans already were wrong about it once. When they rushed it through last March, they thought…

Losers

By Gary Pearce March 27, 2017

When you run as the Greatest Winner Of All Time, you’d better win. Especially your first time. So there’s no way Trump can bluff or blame his way out of his health care debacle. He lost bigly. Republicans lost bigly. Paul Ryan lost bigliest. For seven years and through four elections, they promised to ditch…

Sick!

By Gary Pearce March 24, 2017

Republicans couldn’t muster enough votes to pass their TrumpNoCare bill. Mainly because the Freedom (to Die) Caucus doesn’t believe the bill takes health care away from enough Americans. And they don’t want to cover maternal health, mental health or preexisting conditions. They urgently need to pass it so they can move on. Move on to…

RussiaGate

By Gary Pearce March 22, 2017

This looks familiar. A President’s election campaign is investigated by the FBI for possible lawbreaking. The media is hot on the trail. Deep Throats are leaking all over Washington. Congress is asking questions. A President, known for his paranoia and his disregard for the truth, lashes out at critics, reporters and leakers. His loyalists and…

Rolling Downhill

By Carter Wrenn March 22, 2017

It’s peculiar: My memory is far from perfect but I can’t recall either Jesse Helms or Jim Hunt spending taxpayers’ money to sue another politician – but these days it happens all the time: We’ve got packed courtrooms where one group of government lawyers are battling another group of government lawyers in front of judges…

122 Professors

By Carter Wrenn March 21, 2017

It’s one of the oldest temptations walking around on two legs: A man will try most anything to get his hands on a dollar – and the other morning 122 professors proved they’re no exception. Over in Chapel Hill at a Board of Governors meeting one of the trustees stood up and said it was…

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…