While the politics of Disney maybe hurting them, I see it more as a quality control issue. Disney is now releasing 2-3 full-length animated features a year. And, how many direct-to-video releases have you seen in the past year? Has to be over 5. It seems Disney is more concerned with quantity instead of quality.
A previous poster mentioned how the film would have fared better had they stuck with the original book. A great movie comes from a great story to tell, and people young and old recognize that. Obvious pandering with "solar surfboards" and other gimicky/trendy additions are a turn-off.
Disney needs to follow Pixar's model and produce one, very good movie every other year and not rush to the market with whatever shlock they have thrown together. With more and more competition for their entertainment dollars, consumers are increasingly picky over what to spend it on.
Part of the liberal problems when they get in charge of businesses, is their total lack of reality and any business sense.
Watch what happens to any business when the rats take over. Disney is just a prime example of political correctness and diversity ruling instead of reality and business sense.