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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Pat Ducks, Blames Obama

By Gary Pearce June 12, 2013

Maybe it’s the heat, the humidity or just that it’s June. A reporter gets arrested. Senator Tom Goolsby has 60s flashbacks. Governor McCrory sees “outsiders” when they’re not there. The Democratic Party debacle deepens.   But the flap over the Governor’s game of catch – and his spokesperson’s bizarre statement – still stand out in…

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Moral Monday Quarterbacking

By Gary Pearce June 11, 2013

Ah, the old “outsider” shibboleth rears its head. Shades of George Wallace’s “outside agitators.” But it’s not outsiders that Republicans should worry about; it’s the changing electorate inside North Carolina.   The Republican overreaction to Moral Mondays looks shaky and out of synch. Especially when you see this photo of a policeman hauling off a…

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Torpedoes

By Carter Wrenn June 11, 2013

It seems Republicans up in Congress have split into two hostile tribes – whether you call them ‘Moderates and Conservatives’ (as they did forty years ago) or the ‘Conservatives and Pragmatists’ (as they did twenty years ago) or ‘Insiders and Outsiders’ (as they do now).   Now, say, on spending, the Conservatives (or Outsiders) are…

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The Culture War

By Carter Wrenn June 10, 2013

These days conservatives are reeling in the face of the sudden ascendance of gay marriage as a popular issue – they’re looking back at all the votes traditionalists (or old fogies) have won in referendums (including one in North Carolina just a year ago) and then looking at the latest polls saying there’s been a…

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Best Quote of the Day

By Carter Wrenn June 10, 2013

John Drescher recently shared this quote from a column by A.C. Snow: “In my many years I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a Congress.”                                                             -President John Adams  

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McCrory: The Un-Easley

By Gary Pearce June 10, 2013

Governor McCrory’s style reminds me of Mike Easley: as in, the exact opposite.   Easley was notoriously private. He hated being out in public and going to events. Which is bizarre in a politician.   But Easley had real beliefs and convictions that he stood up for: smaller class sizes, early-childhood education, economic development in rural…

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New Dogs, Old Tricks

By Gary Pearce June 8, 2013

Daniel Gilligan, a bright young Democratic policy consultant from Raleigh, offers an analysis of Republican and taxes:   “Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly have got themselves all worked up over a humdinger of a ‘new’ idea. They want to get rid of that ‘antiquated’ and ‘Depression era’ tax code we got lying around,…

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We Have a Weiner

By Gary Pearce June 7, 2013

Every session, some legislator does something astoundingly bone-headed. This year we have Rep. Bryan Holloway, R-Stokes.   Holloway told WRAL’s Laura Leslie and Mark Binker that he had nothing to do with the embarrassingly sophomoric and allegedly sexist preppy-fantasy blog “Wasp 101.”   Leslie and Binker listed the coincidences between Stokes and blog author, “Richard.”…

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Moral Monday Momentum

By Gary Pearce June 6, 2013

Maybe it was the front-page photo of the white-coated female doctor, stethoscope around her neck, being arrested. Maybe it’s the growing number of protesters and arrests. Maybe it’s the broad range of people and interests involved.   Whatever the reason, the Moral Monday protests are rolling downhill, picking up speed and making an impact.  …

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Two Pieces

By Carter Wrenn January 30, 2025

When the smoke cleared – after Jesse Helms’ second campaign – we’d raised more money than…

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Mish-Mash

By Carter Wrenn January 29, 2025

Tim Waltz posted a photo of himself standing outside in a snowstorm wearing a flannel shirt…

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Finding Out

By Gary Pearce January 28, 2025

Some Trump supporters are surprised to find out they’re Trump victims. Farmers at the American Farm…

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