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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The Law of Unintended Consequences

By Carter Wrenn April 1, 2014

A doctor is a simple creature. He measures achievement by a straightforward standard – the Hippocratic Oath.   A businessman also measures success by a simple standard – money, income and outgo.   But a bureaucrat has the misfortune of breathing and walking in the murky world of insider politics. Which is like no other…

Got Something to Hide?

By Gary Pearce April 1, 2014

It’s amazing how fast politicians go from being all for openness and transparency to all-out for keeping public information from the public.   Take the Republican legislators’ fight to keep secret their emails about redistricting. Hmmm, wonder what they might be hiding there?   Then take DENR. Last Friday at about 5 pm, the department…

Coal Ash

By Carter Wrenn March 31, 2014

I don’t know why but I’ve become absorbed by the machinations of bureaucrats – it’s a bit like watching Alice in Wonderland: Down is up, and up is down.   Take hard work.   Businessmen work hard to get ahead.   Students work hard for better grades.   But who joins a bureaucracy to work…

The Future Is Now

By Gary Pearce March 31, 2014

“A change is coming, and it’s blue.” That’s the conclusion of an op-ed that looked at why more young Americans are voting Democratic. And it was my conclusion after several hours at the College Democrats/Young Democrats convention in Greenville Saturday.   I found an impressive group of smart, dedicated and determined Democrats who are getting…

Move On

By Gary Pearce March 28, 2014

Is our long national Obamacare binge winding down?   A veteran Raleigh operative said this week that the folks at home are getting tired of hearing about it. Coincidentally, a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll found that “just over half the public (53 percent) say they’re tired of hearing about the debate over the ACA and…

Green Paint Balls

By Carter Wrenn March 28, 2014

About a month ago Greg Brannon, dead-set on getting elected to the Senate,  was trying to build momentum and gain ground on front-runner Thom Tillis then, out of a clear blue sky, two investors sued Brannon for flamoozling them out of $250,000 and a jury ruled he had to repay the money.   That opened…

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…

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…

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,…

Another School Study? Yes.

By Gary Pearce March 19, 2026

Some progressives groaned when Governor Josh Stein announced a bipartisan “Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education”…

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…