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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Mitt Romney and Original Sin

By Carter Wrenn December 5, 2007

Mitt Romney says he’s going to take the bull by the horns tomorrow and talk straight from the shoulder with us about his Mormon religion – tomorrow. Sounds fascinating. Except Romney’s burst of candor seems to have been sparked by Mike Huckabee’s sudden rise in the Iowa polls. So Romney’s real goal may not exactly…

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Lancaster’s Got Guts, Too

By Gary Pearce December 5, 2007

Martin Lancaster’s last act may be his best. Lancaster is retiring next year as president of North Carolina’s community college system. He used to be a legislator and a congressman before he lost to Walter Jones in the 1994 landslide. But this is his finest hour. Lancaster is another rare politician who has the guts…

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Political Guts on Immigration

By Gary Pearce December 4, 2007

In their defense, Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue could be right: It may be political suicide to support letting illegal immigrants get educated at North Carolina’s community colleges. After all, even the sainted Terry Sanford lied in 1960. To beat segregationist Beverly Lake, Sanford had to say he supported desegregated schools. And, to her credit,…

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Firing Agador

By Carter Wrenn December 3, 2007

A couple of weeks ago the Democrats in Congress decided to make it illegal to fire Agador (you’d have to have seen The Birdcage). Because he’s gay. So in what seems like an amazingly short time we’ve gone from the a society that frowned on homosexuality to Congress saying it’s protected by the Constitution. But…

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The Democrats Tackle Gay Rights

By Carter Wrenn November 30, 2007

The Democrats in Congress have gotten themselves into a bit of a tangle over gay rights. The House passed a bill to make discrimination against gays in the workplace illegal – but there’s a twist that left some of their allies unhappy. Legendary Democratic Congressman John Lewis, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement in…

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An Odd Thing

By Carter Wrenn November 29, 2007

There’s an unusual thing happening on the City Council: Two of Mayor Meeker’s cronies, Councilmen Thomas Crowder and Russell Stephenson, are up in arms about people tearing down old houses to build new ones. Now, you wouldn’t think that would be troubling. It’s one way old neighborhoods evolve. It improves property values (having a big…

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Educating Illegals

By Carter Wrenn November 29, 2007

Here’s a heck of a thing: The Community Colleges are overcrowded, there’s a shortage of funds and classrooms, and the head of the Community College system has just ordered all fifty-eight campuses to admit illegal immigrants. Why? Well, the Community Colleges’ Lawyer has discovered a 1997 ruling by then Attorney General (now-Governor) Mike Easley that…

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Iowa Idiocy

By Gary Pearce November 29, 2007

After one recent Democratic presidential debate, a couple of people told me they were impressed by Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd. One even liked Dennis Kucinich. (Clearly, some counseling is in order there.) Too bad you can’t vote for any of them. Or anybody else, for that matter. Because of the way our nominating system…

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“Heated Up” Is Heating Up

By Gary Pearce November 28, 2007

I’m going to start a “heated up” watch. “Heated up” is the most overused lead in political news coverage. It’s a cliché reporters resort to all too often when candidates attack. So I’m going to call out any uses of “heated up” I see in political coverage. The latest sinner is an excellent reporter, Mark…

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Anything Goes…

By Carter Wrenn February 26, 2025

Back when Rod Blagojevich ran for governor of Illinois, Obama endorsed him and Trump gave his…

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Does This Work?

By Gary Pearce February 23, 2025

Does a message about “workers,” “working families” and “working-class voters” really work for Democrats? Or does…

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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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