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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Perdue So Far

By Gary Pearce July 13, 2009

Cullen Browder at WRAL asked me to rate Governor Perdue’s first six months in office.   I think she’s doing pretty well. Give her a B. An A if she would take a stronger role in resolving the budget.   She took over the ship of state in a hurricane: a bad economy and the…

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Senator Doug Berger’s World

By Carter Wrenn July 12, 2009

Senator Doug Berger probably never dreamed anyone would run TV ads in his district telling his constituents how he voted to cut 20,000 elderly Medicaid patients’ home care then, eight days later, turned around and voted to build a $25 million fishing pier at the beach — with a sixteen thousand square foot clubhouse and…

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Big Spenders

By Gary Pearce July 9, 2009

Polls suggest that President Obama is losing independents who are concerned about federal spending and rising debt. In North Carolina, Governor Perdue and Democratic legislators fear the political consequences of the coming combination of budget cuts and tax increases.   Democrats don’t need to panic yet. The honeymoon had to end, and Obama had to…

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Strange

By Gary Pearce July 8, 2009

Ironic news juxtaposition: Monday was the deadliest day in a year for America military forces in Afghanistan. Seven dead. And Robert Strange McNamara died.   When McNamara became president of Ford and then JFK’s Secretary of Defense in rapid succession, all Washington marveled at the power of his intellect. Lyndon Johnson thought McNamara was so…

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Crab Pots

By Carter Wrenn July 7, 2009

This afternoon an email flies in over the transom: The states broke and Governor Perdue’s been forced to call for a $1.6 billion tax increase.   An hour later another email flies in over the transom: The Department and Health and Human Services has just had to make an emergency appropriation for ‘items needed by…

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McCain’s Folly

By Gary Pearce July 7, 2009

Nearly a year later, we now see how reckless John McCain was to pick Sarah Palin for Vice President.   Suppose McCain had won. Suppose he had died in office or become incapacitated. The woman who made that incoherent and incomprehensible statement last week – so strange it made Mark Sanford look sane – would…

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The New Ad Wars

By Gary Pearce July 3, 2009

Two “issue” ad campaigns caught my eye this week. They show where this kind of media strategy is going.   One ad was about U.S. Senator Kay Hagan and the others, state Senator Doug Berger.   When I first saw the ad about Hagan, I thought: She’s already running a campaign ad? It sounded just…

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A Red Corvette

By Carter Wrenn July 3, 2009

As good as our Democratic politicians here in North Carolina are at providing us with scandals…the Academy Award this year is going to South Carolina’s Governor.             Nobody’s seen anything like what’s going on ‘South of the Border’ since Sherman burnt Columbia.             See if you can figure this out:   The Governor went to…

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Perdue in Command?

By Gary Pearce July 2, 2009

Back when Lauch Faircloth was a Democrat in Jim Hunt’s Cabinet (pre-1984), he liked to say a governor had to have “command presence.”   Governor Perdue’s poll numbers may be low because the public does not see that quality in her today.   Speaker Joe Hackney had what struck me as a might chilly reaction…

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Out of Touch

By Gary Pearce February 20, 2025

I’ve resisted the temptation to rail every day about Trump’s cruelty, corruption and incompetence – and…

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Jeanette Hyde

By Gary Pearce February 14, 2025

Jeanette Hyde went from Miss Yadkin County to Madam Ambassador. Hyde, who died Monday at age…

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The Best Way to Steal an Election

By Carter Wrenn February 13, 2025

We’ve heard a lot about stolen votes – but here’s the best way to steal an…

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