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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Dissecting the Vote

By Gary Pearce April 9, 2013

Ferrel Guillory & Co. at UNC J-School’s Program on Public Life have taken a discerning deep dive into the 2012 election results – and show why last year reversed the results of 2008 and what lies ahead.   The most interesting finding in the latest DataNet report is how Governor McCrory outperformed Mitt Romney among…

That Was Then, This Is Now

By Gary Pearce April 8, 2013

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. You can rationalize doing what you said you’d never do, but it’s still hypocrisy.   To wit, this from Bruce Siceloff in Under the Dome:   “During his first campaign for governor in 2008, Republican Pat McCrory hammered his opponent, Bev Perdue, on…

Wild and Crazy Guys

By Gary Pearce April 6, 2013

A TAPster and Jones Street veteran urges us to remain calm:   “Democrats and other doomsayers who believe our state is on the brink of a GOP-led apocalypse should be reassured by encouraging signs from Jones Street.   “House leaders used good judgment by making it clear that legislation to establish a state religion was…

Roy Parker Jr.

By Gary Pearce April 5, 2013

I admired Roy Parker Jr. so much I almost moved to Fayetteville.   Roy, who died this week, was one of North Carolina’s great reporters and editors. He was founding editor of the Fayetteville Times. Back in the 1960s, he was a political reporter at The News & Observer – and a classic newsroom character.…

Where is Moses?

By Gary Pearce April 3, 2013

Lost in the desert, North Carolina Democrats should learn from scripture and history that you need a Moses to lead you to the Promised Land.   In 1948, Kerr Scott led the farmers’ revolt against the bankers and utilities executives who ran things. In 1960, Terry Sanford mobilized the WWII vets against Luther Hodges’ conservatives…

Legislature vs. Cities

By Gary Pearce April 2, 2013

A TAPster offers these observations on “the nasty civil war between the legislature and cities, now manifesting itself in high-profile fisticuffs over the Charlotte airport authority and the fate of the Dix property in Raleigh,” as follows:   “First, there have been other disputes like this over the years. Charlotte leaders (including the former mayor…

Dirty Money

By Gary Pearce April 1, 2013

Not once, not twice, but three times now, Governor McCrory has given money to charity that his campaign took from people facing criminal charges related to sweepstakes cafes.   That’s $18,000 so far, AP reports.   Which raises the question: Why did he take all that money in the first place?   Surely his campaign…

Immoderate Pat

By Gary Pearce March 29, 2013

Governor McCrory desperately wants to look moderate. He wants to distance himself from the right-wing red-hots in the legislature. If he doesn’t, he’s on the road to one term.   So he went to great lengths to soften his budget proposal.  The News & Observer editorialized:   “State employees, teachers, Democrats and others unnerved by…

Pacification Therapy

By Carter Wrenn March 28, 2013

With much fanfare just before she left office Governor Perdue announced she’d made a grand deal to lease Raleigh all of the land at Dix Hospital for 99 years. When the deal landed in the newspapers, a friend, who’s spent a good part of his life buying and selling real estate, called, laughed and said,…

Political Shots Fired

By Gary Pearce April 28, 2026

The political sniping began even as chaos still reigned at the White House Correspondents Dinner. My…

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…