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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Chickens**t

By Gary Pearce August 2, 2011

Front-page headlines and much gnashing of teeth greeted the news that a Ukrainian billionaire pulled the plug on the jobs of 1,000 North Carolina chicken plant workers last week.   But the stories missed the irony that a TAPster caught:   “If, instead, a Ukrainian billionaire announced he was building poultry processing plants in central…

The Glass Debt Ceiling

By Gary Pearce August 2, 2011

A TAPster passes along a link raising the question: What if Congress was more than 13 percent women?   A NPR commentator is quoted as saying: “In experiments, when men feel there are lots of other men around, they tend to pose more, they tend to talk tough, they become shortsighted, they take bigger bets.…

Super Power

By Gary Pearce August 1, 2011

If reincarnation is real, I want to come back as a credit-rating agency. They apparently are the most powerful beings on the planet.     They even forced Congress to act!

Is the Center Right?

By Gary Pearce August 1, 2011

If both Tea Party Republicans and Democratic liberals don’t like the debt deal, does that make it a good deal for America?   There is a line of thinking today that what is missing in politics is a “vital center” – those supposed wise men and women who find the right answer to our problems…

Two Facts about the Debt Ceiling Deal

By Carter Wrenn August 1, 2011

It’s pretty hard to sort through all the facts and figures and the rhetoric and posturing about the latest debt ceiling deal – but two facts seem clear.   President Obama, Speaker Boehner, Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid all say the latest agreement will raise the debt ceiling $2.4 trillion in exchange for $2.5 trillion…

Secret Sharers

By Gary Pearce July 31, 2011

Two recent stories make the “what were they thinking?” list.   First, the leaders of Peace College kept secret a plan to take the historic school coed, then sprung it as a done deal.   Did they really expect that to go down well?   Then the N.C. Department of Commerce told PCS Phosphate to…

GOP Joblessness

By Gary Pearce July 30, 2011

Are Democrats asleep? Below are two news reports that ran a week ago. They are rich fodder for North Carolina Democrats to use against Republicans. But I haven’t seen them do it:   “State cuts push up NC jobless rate – North Carolina’s jobless rate rose to 9.9 percent in June, the highest level since…

Third-Party Dreams

By Gary Pearce July 29, 2011

“We need a third party.”   That’s a recurrent fantasy among citizens and commentators frustrated by the bump and grind of politics as usual, like the current debt-ceiling stalemate in Washington.   Thomas Friedman of the New York Times gave voice to this longing in recent columns.   The fantasy goes like this: A heroic group…

Tackling Thorp, Baddour

By Gary Pearce July 28, 2011

I’m impressed by the timing of the TAPster who contributed the item below on UNC football. I posted the blog yesterday, timed to go up this morning. Apparently, its mere presence in cyberspace got action.   Bill Friday told the N&O the firing of Davis ends the story. I doubt it.   Chancellor Holden Thorp…

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…