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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The Ayatollah

By Carter Wrenn February 26, 2024

Police in Iran arrested a 22-year-old woman for not wearing a hijab, hauled her to jail. Bruises on her face, legs, she died two days later. Witnesses said the police beat her. The police said she died of a heart attack. Protestors took to the streets – the Ayatollah called out soldiers, killed 500 protestors.…

Jim Hunt, Democrats and Race

By Gary Pearce February 25, 2024

When Jim Hunt was president of North Carolina Young Democrats in 1968, he said something at a YDC meeting that was deemed newsworthy – and wasn’t popular with all Democrats: “I’m getting tired of going to county, local and even State YDC meetings and looking out at the audience to see far too few black…

An Old Problem

By Carter Wrenn February 23, 2024

Years ago sitting in a Republican convention I stared at a stranger standing at a microphone – I had no idea who he was but we were on opposite sides and when he finished speaking I had no doubt he’d handed us a problem. Back then Bob Orr was what I called a Mountain Republican.…

An Old Sin

By Carter Wrenn February 22, 2024

Worshipping idols instead of God is an old sin – after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Israelites built a Golden Calf, worshipped it not God.  Even Solomon, after he married pagan wives, built altars to pagan idols. These days ideologies – creeds – have taken…

Clouds on the Horizon

By Carter Wrenn February 21, 2024

In a small Virginia church at the end of the Roaring Twenties my grandfather married my grandmother – a month later the Stock Market crashed. During the Great Depression he struggled for a decade.  Hitler marched into Austria and Czechoslovakia, German tanks rolled over Poland, Belgium, France, British soldiers fled Dunkirk. Staring at storm clouds…

Navalny the Politician

By Gary Pearce February 20, 2024

Alexei Navalny was a hero, an inspiring leader and a man of courage, compassion and character who stood up to men of cowardice, corruption and cruelty. He was also a politician, in the best and noblest sense of that much-maligned and despised word. He was a political threat. He would have beaten Putin in a…

The 13th District Republican Primary

By Carter Wrenn February 7, 2024

The primary’s heating up in the new 13th Congressional District – there’re 14 candidates in all but four are dominating the race: Kelly Daughtry, Fred Von Canon, Brad Knott and DeVan Barbour. DeVan Barbour and Kelly Daughtry both ran in the primary two years ago. Barbour finished 2nd. Daughtry 3rd. Both are from Johnston County…

Swifties vs MAGA

By Gary Pearce February 7, 2024

The MAGA meltdown over Taylor Swift explains much about politics today – and for the last 70 years. It’s about old white men who are angry about being knocked off their perch by women, Blacks, Latinos, young people and LGBTQ people. It’s been going on since May 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court declared school…

The Republican John Edwards

By Gary Pearce February 5, 2024

Bill Graham, a Republican candidate for governor, is trying to become the second trial lawyer to win high office in North Carolina. The first was John Edwards, a Democrat who was elected U.S. Senator in 1998. Like Edwards, Graham comes from humble roots and made millions of dollars as a plaintiffs’ lawyer representing little guys…

Obama 48-Trump 39

By Gary Pearce April 26, 2026

A new nationwide poll shows that, if they could run against each other in 2028, Barack…

“Conservative Successes”?

By Gary Pearce April 23, 2026

Senator Phil Berger was out of touch with voters in his district – and suffered the…

Rise and Fall

By Gary Pearce April 21, 2026

A reassuring lesson from our trip to Germany and Czechia is that dictators, despots and tyrants…