Chaucer says; "Solomon says that the words of a flatterer are a snare wherewith to catch innocents." And that "he who speaks sweet words to his friend sets before his feet a net to catch him." The Canterbury Tales
Posted on 05/18/2007 4:17:08 AM PDT by TennMountains
You're misreading him -- especially when combined with the Orange Country speech from earlier in the month -- bipartisanship doesn't come from "making nice" with the opposition and inviting them over to the White House for coffee; it comes from the enlightened self-interest of Congresscritters who want to keep their jobs when the bulk of the voters in their district demand that they go along with the other side.
In other words, you don;t build bipartisanship with politicians, you build it by appealing to the politician's voters.
"A man that flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet."
Fred, apparently, knows his Bible...
He could be our first internet President.
He is not mouthing platitudes - merely pointing out that we (the constituents) need to make our demands known. The reference to “insults and purely partisan politics” can only be referring to the dems. IMHO
Indeed. Nothing rough and tumble about primaries...not on this site anyway. ;-)
Chaucer says; "Solomon says that the words of a flatterer are a snare wherewith to catch innocents." And that "he who speaks sweet words to his friend sets before his feet a net to catch him." The Canterbury Tales
Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
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I admit it. I'm registered as a Republican, but I live in New York, and I don't usually vote the Republican line.I usually vote on the Conservative line.
Hello, Fred!
Others have noted it’s Proverbs 29:5.
It’s not really a “nice” thing. The proverb suggests you should be wary of those who flatter you, because they may be setting a “net at your feet” to catch you, to trip you up, to take advantage of you.
I’m not positive what Fred was trying to say here, especially since he said he’d cast a “net” back at their feet — was he trying to trip them up, was he being funny, or did he in this instance take the literal proverb without thinking about what it meant, and intend it to be a “nice” thing, as if a net at your feet could be good?
Only Fred knows what he meant, I guess.
I’m not giving him ANY advice, except to run. He’s smarter than I am.
He’s got my help in any way necessary, though.
Do a FR search on “fred thompson” key words. There are at least a half a dozen threads on the whole thing. Go back to Monday or Tuesday.
I can’t find my link, but you need to read the whole background to really appreciate it.
Did anyone catch Gene Simmons of KISS fame on Hannity and Colmes last night? He was discussing this same topic.
I was wondering the same thing. They seem to be coming out of the woodwork these days.
I don’t think anyone will object if we post all of Fred’s words:
The Pajamas Media poll is certainly good news, especially when, for a lot of politicians, encouragement to run from three relatives and an unemployed campaign consultant is considered an unstoppable groundswell. When people are saying nice things about me, I try to remember the proverb that compares flattery to a net at your feet. To be sure, the Pajamas poll results are very flattering, so let me return the favor and throw a net at your feet.
Whether or not the Internet can elect any particular candidate in any particular race, it’s clear that all of you and our many friends across the blogosphere and the Web are part of a true information revolution. That’s why so much of my effort has been focused on talking to Americans through this medium. By empowering individuals and building communities, the Internet provides a way of going around the inside-the-beltway crowd to reach people in numbers unheard of not that long ago.
I believe this direct communication and discussion is going to have an enormous impact on our political process. Our nation is facing unprecedented threats, and the challenges of globalization. We have a 70-plus trillion dollar entitlement shortfall and a government that is not effective in important ways.
To solve our problems, we have to realize that our country is pretty evenly divided along party lines. With close numbers in the House and the Senate, there will be no real reform without real bipartisanship. Too often, what we are seeing isn’t an effort to find solutions, but rather insults and purely partisan politics. There are many good and responsible people in government who are willing to work together – but the level of bipartisanship needed for real progress can only be achieved when politicians perceive that the American people demand it.
I talked about this a bit a couple of weeks ago out in California. I talked about how I’d recently run across an old clipping of a Thomas Sowell editorial. In it, he pointed out that Wendell Willkie received the largest vote of any Republican for President when he lost to Franklin Roosevelt in 1940. After the election, though, he never let partisanship turn him into an enemy of the administration. Instead of trashing the president, he served as Roosevelt’s emissary to Winston Churchill.
In the same editorial, Sowell also told a story about Churchill. When British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain died, early in the Second World War, Churchill delivered his eulogy. Though Chamberlain had turned a deaf ear, for years, to all of Churchill’s warnings that could have prevented that war, Churchill praised him. “He acted with perfect sincerity,” Churchill said. “However the fates may play, we march always in the ranks of honor when we have done our best.”
Compare that magnanimity to what is going on in Washington and much of the Internet today. Sowell asks us, “In this day and time, can’t we have a responsible adult discussion of issues while the nation’s fate hangs in the balance in its most dangerous hour?”
That’s the question. If the answer is going to be “yes,” it will be due in large part to sites like this one. So thank you for all you’ve done here and for all the encouragement you’ve given me. Hopefully, we’ll continue this conversation.
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