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 Lottery Scandal

By Carter Wrenn November 3, 2005

We’ve got a good, old-fashioned scandal brewing about the lottery. Scientific Games is one of the mega-gaming companies that run lotteries. It wants to run the North Carolina lottery and 1) it got language inserted into the Lottery Bill (by an amenable legislator ) apparently, to give it a ‘leg up’ over competitors; 2) it…

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It’s the Crime, Stupid

By Gary Pearce November 3, 2005

As Scootergate erupted in Washington, we heard a familiar mantra: “The coverup is worse than the crime.” I beg to differ. Prosecutors may find the coverup easier to prove. Politicians might find the coverup easier to use as a bludgeon on their opponents. But the crime is even worse than the coverup. The crime in…

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Meeker’s Folly

By Carter Wrenn October 31, 2005

Less than a month after he was reelected with no real opposition, Mayor Charles Meeker is giving Republicans an issue to run against him – and other Democrats – on in the next election. Tomorrow, the City Council is going to vote on building a new Marriott Hotel downtown. Mayor Meeker wants to build that…

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A Tale of Two Hotels And $20 million of Taxpayers’ Money

By Carter Wrenn October 29, 2005

Sometimes, something so peculiar happens in politics you just have to stop and ask yourself, “What was that?” Well, something like that has happened in Raleigh. The Marriott Hotels want a subsidy from taxpayers – $20 million – to build a hotel downtown. At the same time a group of businessmen propose to build a…

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Gary Responds:

By Gary Pearce October 29, 2005

Carter, you got it partly right. But that’s as far as I’ll go. And I’ll resort to the oldest trick in politics: change the subject. Because the Convention Center is a done deal. (Even though these stories about cost overruns don’t help the cause.) And I’m not going to try to defend a $20 million…

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And Gary Responds

By Gary Pearce October 29, 2005

Carter, you got it partly right. But that’s as far as I’ll go. And I’ll resort to the oldest trick in politics: change the subject. Because the Convention Center is a done deal. (Even though these stories about cost overruns don’t help the cause.) And I’m not going to try to defend a $20 million…

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A Scary Time

By Gary Pearce October 15, 2024

Republicans usually are better than Democrats at closing out elections, because they’re better at scaring voters.…

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The Kennedy Ideal

By Gary Pearce October 13, 2024

Ethel Kennedy’s death recalls a time when hope and idealism triumphed over hate and fear. Robert…

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Flood of Lies

By Gary Pearce October 10, 2024

First came cataclysmic floods. Then came the cascade of lies. The lies – and the lying…

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