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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Suck It Up, Democrats

By Gary Pearce March 14, 2012

North Carolina Democrats need to get out of their funk.   You can see why so many of them are down. We got hammered in 2010. The Republicans grabbed control of the legislature, the budget, the political agenda, redistricting and fundraising with efficiency and ruthlessness.   Democrats got down even more when many of their…

Jeanne Bonds Responds

By Gary Pearce March 13, 2012

Jeanne Bonds, “lead strategist” for Bill Faison’s campaign, posted a comment on my blog below, “Faison Strikes Out (Again) on Twitter?” I’ve removed her comment, because it made an accusation that I know isn’t true against another individual. But I’m more than happy to give space to her accusations against me, to wit:   “Gary Pearce…

What Will Be the 2008 Game Changer?

By Gary Pearce March 13, 2012

You can be certain of one thing about the 2012 election: The thing that will decide it hasn’t happened yet.   At this point in 2008, nobody had heard of Sarah Palin. And nobody expected the economy to nearly collapse in six months.   The possibilities are endless: war with Iran? Another disaster in Afghanistan?…

Faison Strikes (Out) Again on Twitter?

By Gary Pearce March 12, 2012

Last week I blogged (“Anti-Social Media”) about tweets by Jeanne Milliken Bonds, Bill Faison’s campaign manager. A TAPster now sees evidence that Faison’s campaign is behind a fake Bob Etheridge Twitter account.   The TAPster spotted identical tweets from both Bonds and the parody site “Bobby(B.B)Etheridge.”   Both Bonds and B.B. had tweeted: “The “restless…

Faison Strikes (Out) Again on Twitter?

By Gary Pearce March 12, 2012

Last week I blogged (“Anti-Social Media”) about tweets by Jeanne Milliken Bonds, Bill Faison’s campaign manager. A TAPster now sees evidence that Faison’s campaign is behind a fake Bob Etheridge Twitter account.   The TAPster spotted identical tweets from both Bonds and the parody site “Bobby(B.B)Etheridge.”   Both Bonds and B.B. tweeted: “The “restless energy”…

Dalton Raises the Energy Level

By Gary Pearce March 12, 2012

Not long ago I blogged that some people call Walter Dalton dull. (Not that there’s anything wrong with a governor being a bit dull; see Sarah Palin and Mark Sanford.)   Now his video ad “Restless Energy” reflects what I’m hearing about Dalton on the stump and in person: that he has become a forceful…

Run! (Away!)

By Gary Pearce March 10, 2012

A TAPster raises a key question about the Democrats running for governor: Why? See below:   Your blog today about Bobby Etheridge and Dan Blue and their crafty mobilization of black voters prompted a thought about the Democratic governor’s primary in North Carolina.   Why would any Democrat want the job?   Walter Dalton, Etheridge…

Blue and Etheridge

By Gary Pearce March 9, 2012

Here’s an intriguing back story in the Democratic governor’s race: Did Dan Blue and Bob Etheridge cut a deal by which Blue bowed out, Etheridge got in and Blue will endorse him?   That’s the Raleigh chatter. Blue and Etheridge reportedly talked frequently as filing date neared.   It would make sense. They go back…

Antisocial Media

By Gary Pearce March 8, 2012

Here’s a lesson learned the hard way: a thin skin and a tendency to overreact don’t serve you well in politics.   But that’s exactly the tone being set on Twitter by Jeanne Milliken Bonds, campaign manager for Bill Faison. And it doesn’t serve Faison’s campaign well.   Some background: As faithful readers know, I’ve…

Getting the News

By Gary Pearce March 13, 2026

How do you get your news? Our statewide poll asked North Carolina voters what their primary…

MAGA-gator

By Gary Pearce March 12, 2026

Thom Tillis and Phil Berger fed the MAGA alligator. Then it ate them. Thomas Mills wrote…

Enough is Enough

By Gary Pearce March 11, 2026

Exactly 80 years ago, in 1946, Republicans took control of Congress with a simple message: “Had…