You have to be political enough to keep your job. You don't work in a vacuum, you work with people and should be part of a team. If you can't get along with your teammates and/or management, then you have a problem and may not be around very long.
This is true for promotions as well and many people who keep complaining about not being able to get a promotion fail to realize this. They think working hard should be enough to get them up the ladder when that was never the truth. Playing the game and making sure you're on good terms with as many people as possible is key to progressing. No matter how hard you work, if you don't kiss the right behind occasionally, you can kiss that promotion goodbye.