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 Bedrock

By Carter Wrenn May 5, 2025

Bald head, hair shaved on both sides above his ears, skull shining, pedantic, certain he’s right, sitting in a restaurant Steven pointed across the room at the TV set above the bar. ‘There’s your friend John Bolton on TV. Criticizing Trump. You ought to tell him to shut up.’ I glanced at the TV, shrugged…

Pritzker & Sanford

By Gary Pearce April 30, 2025

Terry Sanford would applaud his protégé J.B. Pritzker’s fiery, fighting speech to New Hampshire Democrats last weekend – a full-throated denunciation of Trump that electrified the crowd and jolted the political world. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, declared, “It’s time to fight everywhere and all at once. Never before in my life have I called…

The Real Problem…

By Carter Wrenn April 28, 2025

We’re trapped in a twisted time. The latest Fox News’ poll showed Trump dropping – so did half a dozen other polls last week. That wasn’t a shock. But in the next breath a stumble reared its head: The media pointed at practical but paper-thin explanations for Trump’s decline. Years ago, Arthur Finkelstein, an unusual…

All the Presidents’ Pens

By Gary Pearce April 28, 2025

Trump’s fans cheer when he wields his Sharpie and signs sweeping executive orders. Abolish DEI! Impose tariffs! End environmental regulations! Deport immigrants! Eliminate the Department of Education! Fire federal employees! Ban medical research! Punish woke foundations and colleges! Abolish PBS! Ban radical left-wing ideology! But what orders could future Presidents sign when they whip out…

The Wrong Fight

By Carter Wrenn April 25, 2025

A risky move, landing in court, spurred a brawl – but give Trump credit: He’s outsmarting both Democrats and the press. Defying a judge’s order was a silly mistake. Trump could’ve made his case in court, won, and shipped Kilmar Garcia to an El Salvador prison. Instead charging out on a limb he threw ‘due…

Breaking Bad

By Gary Pearce April 24, 2025

“Move fast and break things” is the motto of the tech bros at DOGE – which should be called the Destruction of Government Experiment. That’s how Trump governs. He breaks things. He broke the Western alliance against Putin. He broke his promise to end the war in Ukraine “even before I become President.” His tariffs…

This Sounds Screwy…

By Carter Wrenn April 23, 2025

Trailing by 734 votes, losing his Supreme Court race to Democrat Allison Riggs, Jefferson Griffin headed to court, contesting the election. Nothing wrong with that. Fifty years ago Jack Hawke – who went on to become Republican Party Chairman – ran for Congress, lost by 900 votes, headed to court. Tom Ellis, his lawyer, later…

Riggs v Griffin

By Gary Pearce April 23, 2025

The nearly six-month fight over the North Carolina Supreme Court election has proven one thing beyond reasonable doubt: Allison Riggs is supremely better qualified than Jefferson Davis Griffin. No, his middle name isn’t Davis. But it fits. At UNC, Griffin was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity and dressed up in a Confederate uniform for…

What Happens If…

By Carter Wrenn April 21, 2025

Trump’s fighting on a lot of fronts – look at tariffs: If Trump’s right, as he says, he’s leading us into a ‘Golden Age.’ But if he’s wrong we could land in a recession with the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs echoing in our ears. Here’s another fight: The Constitution says Congress decides how much money gets spent…

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…