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 Biased Media?

By Carter Wrenn November 13, 2012

Over on The Atlantic magazine’s website the liberal reporters were having a happy day after the election but not, as you’d expect, by celebrating Obama’s victory – instead, they were having a fine time ribbing conservative pundits from Ann Coulter to Karl Rove because they had said the polls that showed Obama leading Mitt Romney…

Revenge of the Nerds

By Gary Pearce November 13, 2012

This election’s winners include not only data nerds like Nate Silver, but also the Obama campaign’s numbers-crunchers. Wasn’t data analysis supposed to be Romney’s strength at Bain and the Olympics?   The Obama staff – parodied as a bunch of soft-headed, socialist community organizers – were precise and efficient in their targeting and resource allocation.…

Why Republicans Lost Nationally?

By Carter Wrenn November 12, 2012

Last Tuesday, nationally, was a pretty fine day for Democrats: President Obama not only won, Democrats gained Senate seats, House seats, four states voted for gay marriage and two states voted for legalizing medical marijuana.   Since the morning after the election the TV and newspaper pundits have been gesticulating furiously over who’s to blame…

Red State Blues

By Gary Pearce November 12, 2012

Why was North Carolina a bright spot in an otherwise dark day for Republicans nationally?   Were my Republican consultant friends – Carter, Luther Snyder, Tom Fetzer, Paul Shumaker and Jack Hawke – that much smarter than their colleagues across the country?   Or was it just a weird confluence of circumstances: a governor’s race…

Clarifying Mysteries

By Carter Wrenn November 9, 2012

Back in the enlightened 1970’s when I was in college the powers-that-be at UNC gave me a hard choice: They told me I could take either a foreign language or math, but I had to learn one or the other. It was a choice between two poisons. I took foreign language and promptly failed French,…

Bad Start, Pat

By Gary Pearce November 9, 2012

Yesterday I wrote nice things about Governor-elect McCrory. But his entrance onto the Raleigh stage this week wasn’t a good one.   Look at it this way: McCrory has a strong brand in North Carolina right now. He just won big. He gets the benefit of the winner’s glow. He should milk that political capital.…

Why Democrats Lost in North Carolina

By Carter Wrenn November 9, 2012

Democrats lived through about their worst election ever Tuesday night: Republicans whipped them in the races for Governor, Lt. Governor, elected three new Congressmen and gained seats in the State House and Senate – so how, post election, are Democratic pundits explaining their world falling apart? Here’s what they’re saying:   ‘That darn Art Pope…

Congrats, Pat

By Gary Pearce November 8, 2012

Pat McCrory may not like this, but he reminds me a bit of Jim Hunt. His speech Tuesday night talked about North Carolina’s reaching and exceeding “their full potential.” Since then he has talked about reaching out to Republicans and Democrats. During the campaign he boasted about working across party lines in Charlotte. He even…

Divided We Stand

By Gary Pearce November 7, 2012

On the day after, we’re as split emotionally as we are politically.   Democrats celebrate President Obama’s historic reelection. America has now twice elected a black man to the highest office. His win validates his policies: the stimulus, auto bailout and financial reform. Health care reform will survive. He will fill Supreme Court vacancies. He…

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…