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.

CarterWrenn200x271

Carter Wrenn

Gary Pearce 2024

Gary Pearce

Archives

Categories

Lauch Faircloth

By Gary Pearce September 17, 2023

Former Senator Lauch Faircloth, who died last week at age 95, was a Democrat before he got mad at Terry Sanford. Faircloth got his revenge and got elected to the U.S. Senate. Then he got beat by John Edwards. I was there for the whole Shakespearean saga of vengeance, ambition and – sometimes – comedy.…

Read More

Calling Out Liars

By Gary Pearce September 15, 2023

Good for the Biden White House! The day after Speaker Kevin McCarthy caved in to the ultra-right and launched a bogus impeachment of the President, the White House fired back – and took a pointed jab at the media: “It’s Time For The Media To Do More To Scrutinize House Republicans’ Demonstrably False Claims That…

Read More

FUBAR

By Gary Pearce September 13, 2023

In Washington, Republicans block military promotions (still), vowed to shut down the government (again) and launched a bogus impeachment of President Biden. In Raleigh, Republicans can’t pass a budget (still), adjourned without doing anything (again) and were at each other’s throats over casinos. In the press room of Raleigh’s Legislative Building, there’s a FUBAR Meter…

Read More

Trump Versus Biden

By Carter Wrenn September 13, 2023

Biden’s itching to run against Trump – he’s the Republican Biden’s most likely to beat. And it looks like Biden may get what he wants – in a poll last week Trump had 52% of the vote, a big lead, in the Republican primary. But there’re warning signs (for Trump): A block of his voters…

Read More

24 Hours

By Carter Wrenn September 12, 2023

Ole Trump’s a law unto himself. Back during COVID he speculated that injecting bleach in your arm might kill the virus. Last week, in New York, he said that when he was president he prevented a nuclear holocaust and saved millions of lives. Running for president, again, he says he’ll end the Ukraine War in…

Read More

How Low Can They Go?

By Gary Pearce September 11, 2023

You’ve hit bottom when Donald Trump Jr. accuses you of “shady back room deals.” He tweeted about North Carolina legislators’ machinations on casinos: “What’s going on in NC? Outrageous. Shady back room deals and crony capitalism are not the path to #MAGA!” One thing the Trumps surely know is The Art of the Shady Deal.…

Read More

The Inescapable Issue

By Carter Wrenn September 11, 2023

Powers beyond our control, breeding crises no one saw coming, have changed politics in the blink of an eye: Pearl Harbor did that. So did 9/11. And Covid. The ‘unexpected’ makes predicting the outcome of an election a year away risky business. For all we know Putin may invade Poland next. Or Kim Jong Un…

Read More

Politainment

By Carter Wrenn September 8, 2023

A video landed from a friend in my inbox – Reverend R.C. Sproul talking about ‘worshiptainment,’ – a blight sowed in churches by preachers turning services into concerts, stage shows. I wrote back, agreed, added I felt the same way about ‘politainment.’ Vivek Ramaswamy’s the new Republican politainer. We’ve also got entertainer Mark Robinson off…

Read More

Four More Years?

By Gary Pearce September 8, 2023

An aging President faces questions about his fitness for a second term. His poll numbers are discouraging. Americans are down on the economy. The opposing party smells blood. Joe Biden in 2023? Maybe. But also, Ronald Reagan in 1983, 40 years ago. Then, things changed. In 1984, a Reagan-Republican rout reshaped politics for decades to…

Read More

Recessional

By Carter Wrenn November 11, 2024

The tumult and the shouting dies; The Captains and the Kings depart: Still stands Thine ancient…

Read More

Mistakes and Miss-Takes

By Gary Pearce November 10, 2024

Bert Bennett of Winston-Salem, the legendary political godfather to Terry Sanford and Jim Hunt, had a…

Read More

Don’t Give Up

By Gary Pearce November 6, 2024

This is bad. Bad for America and for the world. Bad for women, for immigrants, for…

Read More