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.

CarterWrenn200x271

Carter Wrenn

Gary Pearce 2024

Gary Pearce

Archives

Categories

Courage Again?

By Carter Wrenn July 19, 2006

“I believe in a Democratic Party with a little backbone and a little guts.” John Edwards is again calling on Democrats that have ‘guts;’ this time while campaigning in Ohio to increase the state’s minimum wage. My guess is you could search Ohio for a week and not find a single Democrat who votes in…

Read More

The Presidential Election

By Carter Wrenn July 19, 2006

The DemocratsThe Democratic presidential race starts out as two separate elections which take place at the same time during the first Democratic primaries. The first election is for the leadership – to be the standard bearer – of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. The other for the leadership of the ‘New Democrats’ or…

Read More

North Hills Expansion

By Carter Wrenn July 19, 2006

It’s hard for me to justify the City subsidizing one business at the expense of another. Should the City give the Marriott $20 million and a leg up over its competitor, the Sheraton across the street? Should North Hills get a tax exemption and a leg up over its competitors Crabtree Valley or Triangle Towne…

Read More

Nervous in Raleigh

By Gary Pearce July 19, 2006

Downtown Raleigh is a nervous place this week. Especially the Legislative Building. Rumors abound: FBI agents are interviewing legislators. Legislators are secretly testifying before the federal grand jury investigating Speaker Black. Indictments are coming down. Stay tuned. Click to Read & Post Comments

Read More

A Blue Ribbon Punt Reaction

By Gary Pearce July 18, 2006

Was my blog about the Blue Ribbon Committee on the Future of Wake County (“A Blue Ribbon Punt”) too harsh? One reader says no: “What a laugh. The “Blue Ribbon” panel was designed to deflect blame from the big spenders. The scandal in this whole charade is the failure of anyone to mention or factor…

Read More

The Fall Elections

By Carter Wrenn July 18, 2006

Republican prospects in the elections this fall are looking pretty glum. The President’s popularity has fallen, even some Republicans are having doubts about the war in Iraq, and about the only voters who agree with President Bush on immigration reform are people who will never vote for him – or any other Republican. The Democrats’…

Read More

Raising Kane

By Gary Pearce July 17, 2006

One of our readers offered an interesting perspective on the issue of whether the city should agree to help finance a new North Hills parking deck with developer John Kane: “Downtown they have taken real tax dollars and spent it on a hotel plus committing a future source of revenue to pay for the Convention…

Read More

Raleigh Spending on a Roll

By Carter Wrenn July 17, 2006

Local government spending in Raleigh and Wake County is mushrooming. The City Council wants to spend more. The County Commissioners want to spend more. The School Board wants to spend more. The County Commissioners’ Blue Ribbon Task Force wants to spend more. And they all want to borrow and raise taxes to pay for it.…

Read More

“That’s Just Pretend Ethics”

By Carter Wrenn July 17, 2006

Prospects for ethics reform and cleaning up the ‘pay to play’ scandals took a blow in the State Senate last week. Senator David Hoyle told the Senate committee considering reform bills that “the issue is too complicated to take up this late in the session” (The News and Observer, 7-13-06). Other senators said the financial…

Read More

Education Governor

By Gary Pearce March 13, 2025

With a better General Assembly, Josh Stein could join Jim Hunt and Terry Sanford on North…

Read More

The N&O Story

By Gary Pearce March 12, 2025

Once upon a time, there was a great and powerful newspaper: The News & Observer. Everybody…

Read More

How Democrats Win Again

By Gary Pearce March 10, 2025

The shouting, sign-waving and cane-wielding by congressional Democrats at the State of the Union isn’t a…

Read More