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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Without a Thought

By Carter Wrenn August 18, 2016

The 24-hour-news-cycle has turned into a 20-minute-news-cycle which doesn’t leave much time to think. About all a reporter – who has a publisher demanding a new story so he can sell more Internet ads on his website – can do is grab the latest tweet by Donald Trump and let it rip. And no one…

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Unhinged?

By Carter Wrenn August 17, 2016

Donald Trump’s been called every name in the book: Braggart, con-man, bully. But no one’s called him a flip-flopper. The Donald speaks his mind and sticks to his guns. Then an odd thing happened. First Trump refused to endorse Paul Ryan, John McCain and Kelly Ayotte – which promptly ignited a firestorm up in Washington.…

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The Post-Trump GOP

By Gary Pearce August 17, 2016

Polls suggest that up to 30 percent of Republicans don’t want to vote for Donald Trump. They’re torn about what to do. Swallow hard and vote for Trump? Swallow harder and vote for Hillary Clinton? Vote for Gary Johnson, half of whose issues are totally contrary to Republican thinking? These Republicans are in agony. But…

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Never Seen Before

By Carter Wrenn August 16, 2016

One poll has Hillary leading by nine. Another by ten. Another fifteen. The last fifteen national polls on Real Clear Politics all show Hillary leading. So is it a Hillary bump? A Trump dip? Is the die cast? Will the dip pass? Or get worse? Most Democrats look on Trump’s demise as revealed truth, a…

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Who do you believe?

By Gary Pearce August 16, 2016

On Sunday, Ned Barnett wrote in The N&O that the governor’s race is virtually tied. Monday, I blogged that Roy Cooper is significantly ahead. Question: Who should you trust? Answer: Neither. We don’t know what we’re talking about. Ned based his column on a PPP poll showing Cooper up by one point. My blog was…

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Ross vs Burr and Cooper vs McCrory

By Gary Pearce August 15, 2016

A reader chided me for not writing lately about the NC Senate and Governor’s races. My excuse was that all the oxygen is taken up with “Trump said what today?” Then the Marist/Wall Street Journal poll last week showed Clinton, Ross and Cooper all leading. So here we go. The stunner was Clinton leading Trump…

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Lesser Evils

By Carter Wrenn August 15, 2016

Let Hillary pack the Supreme Court, Tom said, and the country’s kaput. And that’s the way he sees it: Voting for Hillary’s wrong. Voting for Trump’s wrong. But voting for Trump is less wrong. But does being less wrong make it right? Every evil, lesser evil or greater evil, Spencer said, comes with a price.…

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A Wager

By Carter Wrenn August 12, 2016

Ole Francis De Luca over at the Civitas Institute released his latest poll and revealed an amazing fact – Donald Trump is receiving 32% of the African-American vote in North Carolina. The poll took wing and flew across right-wing websites, hailed it as proof of ‘The Donald’s’ invincibility. Who else could win a third of…

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Bush founded ISIS

By Gary Pearce August 12, 2016

Another day, another idiotic outburst by Donald Trump, then another lame excuse that he was just kidding. But the Donald has raised an important question: Which American President is to blame for ISIS? It’s George W. Bush. True, Trump is so bad that W, his low-energy brother and his noble yet hapless father look good…

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Tillis’ Fate

By Gary Pearce April 10, 2025

Senator Thom Tillis wants to have it both ways. He wants MAGA Republicans to think he’s…

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Who’s After Publicity…

By Carter Wrenn April 10, 2025

Trump railed about radical left judges taking away his power, usurping his presidency, fumed one judge…

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Bad News for Us

By Carter Wrenn April 9, 2025

Lips pursed, standing at the front of her elementary school classroom, during the Cuban Missile Crisis,…

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