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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A Constitutional Head-butt

By Carter Wrenn July 3, 2007

The News and Observer headline – “Executive Privilege Showdown Looming” – may sound boring, but it could be the start of some real fireworks. The Democrats sent a little subpoena over to the White House, demanding to see records about “The Bush Administration’s terrorism-era warrantless wiretapping” and a few other things. The President sent it…

Shaking Up the World $50 Million at a Time

By Carter Wrenn July 3, 2007

Who’d have ever dreamed Hillary Clinton would raise over $50 million – and that Barack Obama would outraise her by almost $5 million. Worse – if you’re Hillary – Obama now has 258,000 donors, who’ll keep giving and giving, which spells a big financial edge in the coming months. This is a political wind change…

Bush Justice

By Gary Pearce July 3, 2007

The Bush Presidency was conceived in contempt for the law: a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that stopped the 2000 vote count while Bush was still ahead. So it’s no surprise that Bush commutes Scooter Libby’s sentence so as to keep him out of prison. While Democratic politicians – like Kevin Geddings and Jim Black –…

Left Turn Ahead

By Gary Pearce June 29, 2007

Here’s good news for Democrats and liberals: the youngest generational cohort is more like us than are older voters. A poll by The New York Times, CBS and MTV found: “Young Americans are more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the…

Pirates of the Potomac

By Carter Wrenn June 28, 2007

American government, it turns out, is a lot more colorful than I was taught in High School Civics class. Take the stale, old, boring ‘The Separation of Powers Doctrine.’ It turns out it’s not boring at all. The real theory here seems to be that most politicians are pirates. So the Founding Fathers set up…

What Raleigh Needs Is a $150,000 Consultant?

By Carter Wrenn June 28, 2007

Mayor Meeker and the City Council are considering changing Raleigh’s C.A.C. (Community Action Council) structure. And, of course, the first thing someone suggested was hiring a consultant to do a study. For $150,000. The C.A.C.’s are gadfly-like neighborhood groups funded by the city to advise the City Council. Right now, they claim 6400 members. But…

The Wizard Behind Hillary’s Curtain

By Gary Pearce June 28, 2007

Mandy Grunwald may be the best political consultant you’ve never heard of. She’s the image-maker behind Hillary’s “Sopranos” video. And she’ll handle the ongoing repackaging of Hillary. I’ve known Mandy for more than 20 years. She worked with David Sawyer when he was Jim Hunt’s media consultant, including in the 1984 Senate race. Of course,…

Edwards Supports Gay Marriage?

By Carter Wrenn June 27, 2007

Well, not John. Elizabeth. Mrs. Edwards made a pilgrimage to San Francisco to help kick off the annual gay pride parade which The News and Observer (6-25-07) described as ‘a campy civil rights celebration… attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators sprinkled with drag queens, leather chaps and a healthy dose of nudity.’ Mrs. Edwards promptly…

Burr’s Contortions

By Carter Wrenn June 27, 2007

Senator Richard Burr’s contortions on President Bush’s Immigration Bill have him tied in knots. First, Burr announced he was against the bill. And voted against it. Then, yesterday, he reversed himself, supporting Bush’s bill on a key procedural vote. Now, Burr’s staff is reassuring opponents of the bill, telling them he will vote against its…

“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…

Rolling Down the Elbe

By Gary Pearce April 19, 2026

Gwyn and I just returned from a 12-day journey through 1,000 years of history in Germany…