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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Healing Wounds

By Carter Wrenn May 23, 2025

Instead of going to college Joe Kent joined the army at 18; a Ranger, Green Beret, did 11 combat tours. Stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia he met Shannon Smith, also a soldier – they married, had two children. Five years later on a street in Syria an Isis terrorist walked toward four soldiers, ignited a…

Good Start

By Gary Pearce May 22, 2025

Governor Josh Stein has changed the climate in Raleigh. And brighter days may be ahead for North Carolina – especially for public schools and teachers. At Stein’s encouragement, House Democrats voted last night – by 27-20 – to approve House Republicans’ proposed budget. The Governor believes the final budget that comes out of a House-Senate…

Could Kamala Have Won?

By Gary Pearce May 20, 2025

The media/punditry obsession with President Biden’s age and health in the White House obscures a more important question: Could Kamala Harris have won anyway? Yes, says Stan Greenberg, a veteran Democratic pollster and analyst who worked for Bill Clinton. In fact, he argues in “Kamala Could Have Won” in The American Prospect, she was winning…

Signs of Wisdom

By Carter Wrenn May 19, 2025

This, Trump posted, is what Burj Khalifa looks like. He showed a photo of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai lit up at night by red, white, and blue lights, like a flag. Knowing the queasiness Trump felt when sheiks flew in grander jets than presidents, Qatar gave him a gift – a new $400…

Donald of Arabia

By Gary Pearce May 15, 2025

Trump took an entourage of super-rich Americans to visit super-rich Arabs to do deals that will make them all richer. Back in Washington, congressional Republicans drew up a budget that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will cause more than four million people to lose health insurance and 8.6 million people to lose Medicaid coverage.…

Off-Year Elections

By Carter Wrenn May 15, 2025

Chariots of Fire won the Best Picture Oscar…Joe Montana and the 49ers won the Super Bowl …Dallas was the top TV show…and, back in 1982, I ran head-on into my first off-year election. By then I’d worked in 3 campaigns – each ended well. In 1982, with Reagan in the White House, we set out…

Quite a Day

By Carter Wrenn May 13, 2025

Trump had quite a day yesterday. Qatar offered a posh new jet to replace Air Force 1 – Trump said it’d be ‘stupid’ to say no. Next Trump said we’d stopped a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. When he’d imposed tariffs, Trump whacked China. Got whacked back. Blinked. Yesterday announced he’d cut a big…

Rigged

By Gary Pearce May 11, 2025

Allison Riggs beat the election-riggers. She, her campaign and an army of allies – the Democratic Party, election attorneys and nonpartisan groups like Common Cause – fought a costly, arduous, six-month battle that finally prevailed over Jefferson Griffin and Republicans who were determined to overturn an election he lost. But it was a close call.…

A Lovefest

By Carter Wrenn May 7, 2025

Times change. Years ago, back in 2016, Ann Coulter wrote a book ‘In Trump We Trust.’ Last year, before the election, she said she’d vote for Trump despite the fact she couldn’t trust him. Times changed. Trump’s back in the White House, now, holding cabinet meetings – and they’re odd meetings: One by one the…

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…

Enough is Enough

By Gary Pearce March 11, 2026

Exactly 80 years ago, in 1946, Republicans took control of Congress with a simple message: “Had…