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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“Conservative Successes”?

By Gary Pearce April 23, 2026

Senator Phil Berger was out of touch with voters in his district – and suffered the most stunning defeat in North Carolina politics in modern times. His column this week – “Let’s Not Miss Our Chance to Continue North Carolina’s Conservative Successes” – shows he’s out of touch with voters across North Carolina. On 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 rise and fall. A scary lesson is that sometimes they take their countries and their people down with them. It’s increasingly clear that Trump’s fall is coming. Will we survive it? While we were in Czechia, two-thirds of voters…

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 and Czechia (which they prefer over “Czech Republic”) – and a look at both countries’ Nazi and Communist pasts. Our Viking cruise took us from Berlin to Prague, along the not-very-mighty Elbe River, through medieval towns, rustic countryside, spectacular…

No Kings, No Violence

By Gary Pearce April 2, 2026

My daughter Maggie and I were in New York Saturday, so we braved the cold, hiked up to Central Park and joined tens of thousands of people in a No Kings protest. Like thousands of demonstrations by millions of people across the country, it was a peaceful, even joyful, event. Trump calls his opponents “domestic…

Berger Hurt Schools

By Gary Pearce March 26, 2026

In 15 years as boss of the Senate, Phil Berger has done incalculable damage to North Carolina’s public schools and to our state’s future. The day he conceded, Wake County’s school board was wrestling with – and rejecting – budget cuts that would have eliminated 130 special-education teachers. That’s just one consequence of Berger cutting…

Dethroning the King

By Gary Pearce March 25, 2026

Senator Thom Tillis told “wealthy potential donors” on a Zoom call last month that Phil Berger “had become too power hungry” and “had to go.” That scoop comes from Eduardo Medina, a Durham-based reporter for The New York Times, who has done some of the best reporting on Berger’s abrupt and stunning fall from power.…

Mueller – Not Trump

By Gary Pearce March 24, 2026

“Good, I’m glad he’s dead.” – Donald Trump on Robert Mueller A reader – a decorated Vietnam veteran – wrote me about meeting Robert Mueller once and spending “a delightful afternoon discussing our times in Vietnam. [His much more dangerous than mine.]” He said, “Trump’s insult to Mueller will go down as yet another pathetic…

War Games

By Gary Pearce March 23, 2026

Presidents and Secretaries of Defense have a history of lying to us about wars. Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara lied about Vietnam. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Now we’re expected to believe two of the biggest liars in history – Donald Trump and his…

Another School Study? Yes.

By Gary Pearce March 19, 2026

Some progressives groaned when Governor Josh Stein announced a bipartisan “Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education” last week. “Does NC Really Need Another Commission to Study Public Education?” asked Public Schools First NC. Yes, we do – if we want to break the political logjam that has blocked education progress in North Carolina for too…

The Politics of Indictments

By Gary Pearce November 14, 2005

It is striking how much of today’s political conversation – in Raleigh and in Washington –…

Here’s Why Mike Easley is Governor

By Carter Wrenn November 14, 2005

If you saw ‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas’ a few years ago, you may remember…

Morgan’s Opponent

By Carter Wrenn November 14, 2005

According to The Pilot, Pinehurst Republican Joe Boylan says he is considering challenging state Representative Richard…