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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Reaping What They Sowed

By Gary Pearce September 22, 2024

For decades, North Carolina Republicans have been bottom-feeding. With Mark Robinson, they hit bottom. Since the 1960s, they’ve opposed civil rights, voting rights and equal rights for anyone who suffered discrimination. Since Jesse Helms’ first election to Senate in 1972, they’ve appealed to hate, fear and racism. They’ve trolled the darkest depths of politics. Every…

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One More Reason…to Frown

By Carter Wrenn September 20, 2024

. “…I am the one who is going to save the country…” Did George Washington say that? Lincoln? Roosevelt during World War II? No. Trump said it. On Fox News. Last week. Washington and Lincoln never imagined they had the power in their hands to be saviors. But Trump’s cut from a different bolt of…

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Another Election About Character

By Carter Wrenn September 18, 2024

Josh Stein’s got a second ad with no one in it talking but Mark Robinson. Stein scrolls one question across the screen – Is this who we want to be governor? – then shows Robinson making speeches, growling: “I got them AR-15’s in case the government gets too big for its britches… cause I’m going…

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An Odd Thing

By Carter Wrenn September 16, 2024

Trump got down to brass tacks, posting: There will be no more debates. Harris baited Trump, poked him saying people walked out of his rallies bored – Trump took the bait, the debate rolled downhill. Later, standing in the ‘Spin Room,’ Trump cooed he’d won the debate. But how often does a politician win a…

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Blue NC?

By Gary Pearce September 16, 2024

Kamala Harris rode a post-debate wave into North Carolina last week. The media should stop asking if she can win the state. Clearly, she can. Even before the debate, polls showed her leading Trump here 49-46. Last March, Trump led President Biden by 5. An eight-point swing is huge in today’s polarized electorate. Then there’s…

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A Master Class

By Gary Pearce September 12, 2024

Kamala Harris could have done one thing better Tuesday night. Otherwise, it was a master class in debate prep and performance. She seemed nervous answering the first question: “When it comes to the economy, do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?” She began, “So, I was raised as a…

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Smackdown

By Gary Pearce September 11, 2024

The split screens said it all, even when the mics were muted. Trump was angry, unhinged and afraid to look Kamala Harris in the eye. Harris was in command all night. It was the most dominating performance in the history of presidential debates since JFK won the very first one in 1960. It was the…

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An Eccentric

By Carter Wrenn September 11, 2024

Spotting a dead whale lying on the beach in Hyannis Port, eccentric, he ran to get his chainsaw, sawed off the whale’s head, tied the head to the roof of his car, drove five hours back to his home in New York. Another time, driving thru upstate New York, spotting a dead bear cub lying…

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The Debate Tonight, A Hard Counter Punch

By Carter Wrenn September 10, 2024

Cocaine kingpin Jaime Davidson handed ‘Bam Bam’ Lawrence a .357 Magnum pistol, told him to go rob a rival; Bam Bam shot an undercover policeman – investigating drug kingpins – in the head during the robbery, killed him. Jaime Davidson got life in prison – for providing the pistol, ordering the robbery. While Trump was…

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Another Story from Politics

By Carter Wrenn December 24, 2024

Watergate sunk Nixon. Jimmy Carter was elected. Two years later Jesse Helms ran for reelection. In…

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Unhappy Holidays?

By Gary Pearce December 24, 2024

We Americans are angry this Christmas. 77 million voters were so angry they elected Trump. 75…

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A Surprise

By Carter Wrenn December 23, 2024

‘You tell a lot of good stories about Reagan, like his saying a prayer for the…

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