The last thing you want to do is give the opposition ammo. On a personal note, I advised my mother today not to buy fish from a store whose owner, every election cycle puts every lawn sign for every republican on the ballot out in front of his oversized house on the hill that everyone has to drive by. I know it's petty on my part, but I was swayed. If the r-wingers think the paper is stacked against them and then they find out the reporters actually have an opinion that doesn't match their own, it can be bad for business

... spends a lot of time trying to pretend they're unbiased, yet they continue to endorse Governer (sic) Scott Wanker.

This is one of the big reasons why I'm glad I'm not a journalist anymore. The industry crows about freedom of expression and then does everything it can to muffle its own employees under the name of being unbiased, but then the publishers serve on the chambers of commerce, etc. Damned miserable job and I don't miss it one bit.

I'm guessing that a couple of people in the newsroom couldn't discuss politics like adults, and it turned into an ugly shouting match with a lingering grudge...

and journalists must dance on it. You've got to know and understand deeply the beat you're on (in this case, politics) so you can report, make judgments, and provide context. You can't get involved, because that will color your judgment and affect the context. Every journalist is taught this (OK, all journalists who are properly trained). Being able to do it is quite frankly, impossible. The best journalists simply do it better than most.
Not having been in the newsroom, I couldn't say what types of political discussions where going on there, but it is extremely easy for an entire staff to begin thinking alike and that isn't healthy for a news organization.