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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Newton’s 3rd Law

By Carter Wrenn February 21, 2012

The Democrats in Raleigh haven’t looked this befuddled in years – redistricting is one source of their bewilderment but the roots of their disorder run deeper: In every state election for two decades the Raleigh Democrats have outraised Republicans by millions – this year the Democrats are staring at empty coffers and Phil Berger has…

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GOP Mini-Me’s

By Gary Pearce February 21, 2012

The GOP 13th Congressional District race looks like a mini-version of the Republican presidential race.   George Holding is playing the part of Mitt Romney: establishment conservative focusing on cutting spending and deficits (and ignoring the reality that Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush gave us the biggest deficits ever).   Paul Coble…

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Cross Your Fingers

By Gary Pearce February 21, 2012

Can Democrats get so lucky? Will the Republicans really nominate Rick Santorum?   I had high hopes for Newt Gingrich. But, once again, he has proven to be the Hindenburg of American politics: a huge vessel of hot air doomed to go down in flames.   Clearly, Mitt Romney would be the toughest Republican in…

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PR 101 – for Refs, Too

By Gary Pearce February 20, 2012

Listen up, ACC execs and refs: Any Big Shot today has to be open, honest and accountable. No comment and not answering questions won’t cut it.   Full disclosure: I was at the State game Saturday, and I’m a big fan of the Pack. But I pride myself on never getting after the refs (they’re…

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A Jobs Plan

By Gary Pearce February 19, 2012

A Democratic TAPster offers these thoughts “Re – Caterpillar and others over the past several months:   “If I were running for governor (and I’m not but have to admit I think I could beat the current group of contenders) I would come out in favor of corporate incentives. I would state I will not…

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Click Button, File Form

By Carter Wrenn February 17, 2012

A Republican filed to run for State House and no sooner had he filed than he was told he had to fill out a second form called a Financial Disclosure Report – so he went to the State Ethics Commission’s website and found the form then ran head on into a bureaucratic maze.   When…

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Playing by House Rules

By Gary Pearce February 17, 2012

What would have happened two years ago if then-Speaker Joe Hackney had ordered Capitol police to clear away a group of Tea Party demonstrators on the second floor of the Legislative Building?   Republicans no doubt would be in high dudgeon over such high-handed action. The Tea Party would be in a frenzy over “police-state…

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Broken Record

By Gary Pearce February 16, 2012

Pat McCrory hasn’t yet figured out how to deal with not having Bev Perdue to kick around any more.   He said at his filing that he’s running against “broken government.” Well, who isn’t?   As questions he got showed, “broken government” can mean the legislature as well as the executive branch.   And McCrory…

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We’ve Heard this Before

By Carter Wrenn February 16, 2012

Obama’s new budget is out and the more things change the more they remain the same – he’s increasing the deficit (from $1.3 to $1.33 trillion) and increasing spending, but big cuts are coming somewhere down the road.   Obama’s been running that same flim-flam, promising big cuts down the road since he was elected…

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How Democrats Win Again

By Gary Pearce March 10, 2025

The shouting, sign-waving and cane-wielding by congressional Democrats at the State of the Union isn’t a…

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Deborah Ross’ Rx

By Gary Pearce March 7, 2025

Curmudgeonly Cajun James Carville says Democrats just need to “roll over and play dead” and wait…

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Puzzling

By Carter Wrenn March 7, 2025

Trump raised tariffs. Said tariffs are beautiful. The next day, about facing, said automakers didn’t have…

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