The way to make friends and influence people in your favor is not to guess where battle lines may lie and and attempt to butter up someone who has been in the place longer against whoever you imagine, or even know they disagree with.
No matter how much I may disagree with someone or agree with you, they are someone I have worked with for years and you are not; I know how far I can trust them and for what, and I do not know you at all.
If you try to set me against someone who has no power over me, and that includes all untenured and non tenure line faculty, you insult me. If you try to set me against an ally, you show me colors you would have done better to leave undefined.
If you try to set me against one who is already a silent adversary, you show me that you are a manipulator and a busybody, and that you see me as weak. You are also showing me how you work, and I am making a note of it.
Someone has moved into my hall who sighs a lot and asks every morning, “How are you?” with the expectation that one will say things are not going well. If things were not going well, I would not tell hir, and if ze were a professional person ze would realize that.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
They sure want their pound of flesh, don’t they.
More like their stone of flesh, but yes, that is what they want.
They don’t want you dead, just crippled.
Precisely!