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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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…

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…

Obama 48-Trump 39

By Gary Pearce April 26, 2026

A new nationwide poll shows that, if they could run against each other in 2028, Barack…

“Conservative Successes”?

By Gary Pearce April 23, 2026

Senator Phil Berger was out of touch with voters in his district – and suffered the…

Rise and Fall

By Gary Pearce April 21, 2026

A reassuring lesson from our trip to Germany and Czechia is that dictators, despots and tyrants…