> The employer was constantly involving themselves with US national politics, but employees were expected to refrain from having political opinions of their own.

Reminds me of my first job in state government where the incredibly underpaid workers had to go through bureaucratic paperwork if they needed a second job to pay the rent (ostensibly because of the conflict of interest risk)

Yet the governor was a known slumlord. I’m sure there’s no potential conflict of interest there.

Let me summarise your post: Pro-corporation, anti-employee.