I'm willing to bet they're doing better in life now than if they had stayed.
But if you agree to their rules then you must play by their rules, politics, and if you then don't put your best effort into playing politics you may find yourself on the losing side soon.
Ultimately you will lose in either situation, but one solution prolongs the paychecks.
All you have to do is not push an agenda to improve things your way. Sounds easy..
Looking at this another way if that person wanted to get fired for no cause this might be a good way.