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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Addicted to Koch

By Gary Pearce March 27, 2014

Thomas Mills at PoliticsNC riled up some Democrats when he questioned the strategy of going after the Koch brothers.   I have the same question. Is this a classic case of chasing the cape and missing the matador?   A national poll this week showed that half of all Americans don’t even know who the…

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A Better Way

By Carter Wrenn March 26, 2014

Charlotte minister Mark Harris, who’s running for Senate, hit a rough patch when he released a poll showing him trailing Thom Tillis by 11 points – an inconvenient fact his political aide, Tom Perdue, brushed aside by saying, “The fact that we are down actually means we are way up.”   Saying down is up…

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Wake Up

By Gary Pearce March 25, 2014

You couldn’t design a more perfect Democratic candidate for Wake County in 2014 than Sarah Crawford. Proven success in a professional career and in community service – check. Attended public schools and college here – check. Young mother with children in public schools – check. Energy, smarts, savvy and a fiendishly hard worker – check,…

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Duking It Out

By Gary Pearce March 24, 2014

Duke Energy and Duke basketball had a bad March. Duke basketball probably will come back sooner than Duke Energy.   Duke Energy knows it has a problem. The utility took out full-page newspaper ads Sunday – the classic corporate PR response.   It was a waste of money.   A paid ad persuades no one…

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Fracking, Drilling and Spilling

By Gary Pearce March 20, 2014

A federal criminal investigation. A massive, destructive spill. Deliberate pumping of bad stuff into water that people drink.   Is this a description of the current Duke Energy debacle? Or a preview of hydraulic fracking for natural gas in North Carolina?   The Duke mess is a huge – and perhaps fatal – problem for…

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A Mayor for Governor?

By Gary Pearce March 19, 2014

Maybe it’ll be Charles Meeker. Or Nancy McFarlane. Or one of their successors. Whoever, a mayor of Raleigh will be Governor. And soon.   The Raleigh media market is huge, reaching maybe as much as 40 percent of the Democratic primary vote and close to a third of the general election vote.  A mayor who…

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Duke Up the River

By Gary Pearce March 17, 2014

Duke Energy badly fumbled the political/PR ball on the coal-ash spill. Duke should have quickly rolled out a clear plan to clean up the Dan River and to deal with long-term management of ash ponds.   All we heard was the CEO saying ratepayers would pay. Politicians filled the void with preaching, posturing and their…

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Spill=One Term for McCrory?

By Gary Pearce March 14, 2014

Without Duke Energy, Pat McCrory wouldn’t be Governor. Now, with Duke’s coal-ash spill, he may very well be a one-term Governor.   Get some popcorn and get a comfortable chair, because this movie is going to run for a long time. At least through the 2016 election. And it will dominate the rest of McCrory’s…

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Slow Down!

By Gary Pearce March 12, 2014

A TAPster reports seeing a State Capitol Police car equipped with a radar gun – miles away from any state government building.   Inquiring minds want to know:  Why does the State Capitol Police need a radar gun in one of their cruisers? What possible explanation can there be? Are school children running too fast…

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Joe John

By Gary Pearce January 22, 2025

State Representative Joe John, who died today, looked something like a friendly but fierce bulldog. He…

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What You Missed

By Gary Pearce January 21, 2025

Some of my friends didn’t watch Trump’s inauguration. One went to church. One went to every…

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Women Warriors

By Gary Pearce January 19, 2025

The Democratic Party needs to get tougher, and that’s a job for Democratic women. Sydney Batch…

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