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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Warning: Non-PC Jokes Ahead

By Gary Pearce May 9, 2011

Last week, I received a couple of definitely non-politically correct Osama jokes from TAPsters. I wasn’t sure whether to post them, especially given all the angst about killing Osama, the raucous celebrations, releasing the death photos, etc., etc.   Then I decided: What does this blog stand for if it’s not for offending some people?…

The Osama Story and Photo

By Gary Pearce May 6, 2011

President Obama probably wishes his PR team worked as smoothly as the SEAL team that killed Osama and the intelligence team that found him.   The White House fuzzed up the triumph by rushing to put out information that later proved to be wrong.   Here’s a guess about why that happened: The White House…

John of Arabia

By Carter Wrenn May 5, 2011

First we got into another ‘short war’ (over in Libya) then the war turned into a logjam then one morning I opened the newspaper and there was John McCain traipsing around Benghazi saying we ought to dive in deeper to break the logjam and next the Obama administration was sending the ‘rebels’ $25 million.  …

18,000 Teachers

By Carter Wrenn May 5, 2011

For two years Governor Perdue’s been face to face battling an enemy (let’s name her enemy ‘Problems’ – meaning she’s been fighting with faceless abstractions like deficits, unemployment and recessions rather than flesh and blood people) and she’s been losing at every turn.   But now she’s face to face with a new enemy: Republicans. And…

The Gang of Five

By Gary Pearce May 5, 2011

Governor Perdue says you can “take it to the bank” that the five Democrats who voted for the House budget will be with her in a veto fight.   She should be right. And this will be a test of her political muscle.   I ask myself: What would Jim Hunt do? Back in the…

Not Set in Stone…

By Carter Wrenn May 4, 2011

Last election President Obama’s Job Approval Rating defined how people voted – if you thought Obama was doing just fine (or sort of fine) you voted Democratic, if you didn’t think he was doing so fine you voted Republican (unless you were an independent or Democrat who’d voted for Obama in 2008 – then, most…

Sacred Cows

By Gary Pearce May 4, 2011

“All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” – George Orwell, Animal Farm   Legislative leaders said everything would be on the table for budget cuts.   But a Democratic TAPster sent these “quick, back-of-the-envelope numbers” on how deeply the House budget cut agencies headed by Republicans:   Department of Labor cut…

The Obama Bump

By Gary Pearce May 4, 2011

A caution for giddy Democrats who think the killing of bin Laden will reelect President Obama: This too shall pass.   Remember President George Herbert Walker Bush.   Eighteen months before the 1992 reelection, right after the four-day Iraq war, his approval ratings were at an astronomical level, near 90 percent.   A friend reminded…

Lafayette Park

By Carter Wrenn May 3, 2011

Osama’s dead and let’s hope Al Qaeda passes with him (or at least falls apart without him) but there’s one bit of grit in the gears that says maybe we paid a price for his villainy we hadn’t reckoned on.   It’s the celebrating.   The way we – especially our young people – seem…

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…