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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Chaos, Carnage and Cruelty

By Gary Pearce January 31, 2025

Trump doesn’t care how much chaos he creates, how much carnage he causes and how much cruelty he inflicts on people, including his own supporters. It’s all about making himself look big, strong and powerful. It’s all a show. Before, it was The Apprentice. Now, it’s The President. He makes a show of signing executive…

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Two Pieces

By Carter Wrenn January 30, 2025

When the smoke cleared – after Jesse Helms’ second campaign – we’d raised more money than anyone had ever raised in a Senate election; at the start of that campaign staring at reams of new election laws, confounded, I’d called Stan Evans head of the American Conservative Union. “I’m going to need a lawyer.” Stan…

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Mish-Mash

By Carter Wrenn January 29, 2025

Tim Waltz posted a photo of himself standing outside in a snowstorm wearing a flannel shirt – mocking Waltz, Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita posted above the photo, Everyone knows you wear a dress Tim. Above a video of Biden walking to a car, stopping, straining to hear questions shouted by a reporter, Trump’s press…

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Finding Out

By Gary Pearce January 28, 2025

Some Trump supporters are surprised to find out they’re Trump victims. Farmers at the American Farm Bureau convention were “nervous” that Trump’s immigrant deportations will take away their low-wage farmworkers. Police unions that endorsed Trump are “deeply discouraged” that he pardoned January 6th thugs who assaulted police officers. Latino voters who shifted to Trump and…

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A Day of Reckoning?

By Carter Wrenn January 27, 2025

Watching a troupe of politicians sitting in line side by side behind an ornate wooden dais holding a hearing reminded me of watching an old play: Lips moved, the words politicians said boiled down to getting re-elected. Trump picked Hegseth, Kennedy, Patel, Bondi – no Republican dared cross Trump, risk a primary with Trump on…

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Quite a Week

By Carter Wrenn January 24, 2025

This week was quite a week: Biden pardoned his brother, sister, other brother, a general who detests Trump, every member of the Jan. 6 committee, and of course he’d already pardoned his son Hunter. Climbing into a helicopter Biden left the White House. Trump sat down in the Oval Office, pardoned the mob who’d stormed…

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Biden Muted

By Gary Pearce January 24, 2025

One bleak visual at the inauguration summed up Joe Biden’s presidency: Biden sat silently – seething inwardly, no doubt – through Trump’s graceless, divisive and mean-spirited speech. For four years, Biden sat almost mute in the White House while Trump trashed everything Biden did to build back America after Trump’s first term. Biden thought the…

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Joe John

By Gary Pearce January 22, 2025

State Representative Joe John, who died today, looked something like a friendly but fierce bulldog. He fiercely loved the law and our system of justice. He loved public service. He was one of few people to serve with distinction in all three branches of state government: judicial, executive and legislative. He loved baseball and the…

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What You Missed

By Gary Pearce January 21, 2025

Some of my friends didn’t watch Trump’s inauguration. One went to church. One went to every Martin Luther King Day celebration she could find. One went to an inaugural-free lunch with friends out of town. One dedicated the day to intensive study of the NFL and college football playoffs. I watched for them – and…

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Blue Moon

By Carter Wrenn August 27, 2018

The first time I ever laid eyes on a ‘blue-moon’ election was thirty-six years ago, after…

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Don’t impeach!

By Gary Pearce August 23, 2018

Democrats: Don’t impeach Trump. Don’t talk about it. Don’t even think about it. Think this through.…

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“Beyond a reasonable doubt”

By Gary Pearce August 22, 2018

Do Republicans realize how big a club they’re giving Governor Cooper to beat them with this…

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