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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Limited Power

By Carter Wrenn January 19, 2017

When the election began Millennials trapped in dead-end jobs faced a choice between a Democrat Washington Politician and a Socialist (who could only come from Vermont) and the Millennials chose the Socialist. On the other side of the aisle working class families sitting at kitchen tables in small towns staring at stacks of bills faced…

A New Wrinkle

By Carter Wrenn January 17, 2017

‘Sallie told David who told Harry who told Joe that Sergie said’… It sounds like gossip flying around a sewing circle of old women but it wasn’t – it was a story about Donald Trump and the Russians told by a former MI6 agent in a ‘report’ that caught fire (on one website) then rolled…

Trump Trepidation

By Gary Pearce January 16, 2017

Studies say the most depressing day of the year is today – the third Monday in January. The holidays are over, winter has set in and it’s, well, Monday. But this year many, and maybe most, Americans say the most depressing day will be the third Friday, when Trump is inaugurated. Both days come this…

$24.3 Million

By Gary Pearce January 13, 2017

That’s how much Governor Cooper’s campaign spent. $16.8 million. That’s how much Pat McCrory’s campaign spent. $7.5 million. That’s how much more Cooper’s campaign spent than McCrory’s. 44.6 percent. That’s how much more Cooper spent by percentage. Nearly half again what McCrory spent. These are astounding numbers. And they should give heart to Democrats looking…

Yes they can

By Gary Pearce January 12, 2017

I have a simple way of judging a political event. If I know most everybody there, and they’re my age, it’s a flop. If I don’t know many people, and they’re young, it’s a success. Governor Cooper’s Inaugural SnowBall was a huge winner. It was jammed with smart, interesting, idealistic, funny, charming and hard-working young…

Hope vs Hate

By Gary Pearce January 11, 2017

President Obama’s farewell speech drew the lines clearly. His hope versus Trump’s hate. Reason and oratory versus tweets and insults. Building people up versus tearing them down. Bringing us together versus driving us apart. Graceful equanimity in the face of bitter partisan attacks versus a narcissistic imperative to attack any critic, doubter or questioner. Ultimately,…

The Professor

By Carter Wrenn January 11, 2017

Looking back the first warning sign was his crowing: For years, the professor wrote, he’d traveled the world. He’d set up elections in strange places like Sudan. Along with his Danish colleague he’d designed the first model – measuring over 50 moving parts of the political process – to determine whether elections were fair. He’d…

Pray for our country

By Gary Pearce January 10, 2017

Trump hasn’t been inaugurated. The Republican Congress convened just last week. But they’ve already taken strong stands against two things they clearly oppose: Intelligence Ethics.

The Clash

By Carter Wrenn January 10, 2017

The election proved just about everyone’s fed up with Washington politics but the first day of the new Congress the Washington Politicians proved they didn’t get the message: Foolishness usually starts at the top in Congress but this time it started at the bottom with the Republican back-benchers who, out of a clear blue sky,…

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…