Kicking Brendan Eich was for me the first noticeable sign of decline. Politics was just a pretext that gathered support at the time as it was very in fashion to fight for gay marriage and vilify anybody who was against it. The real reason was as usual a fight for power although the details will probably never be known outside of those involved.
Supporting such a change for unrelated political reasons was a mistake, as it always is, because you help serve the hidden interests of others. And the issue that seems important to people (gay marriage in this case) is not even affected in any way by Brendan being sidelined. But you can clearly see the effects that the new leadership - lot more interested in money, power, politics and subterfuge than tech - has had on the product.
Supporting such a change for unrelated political reasons was a mistake, as it always is, because you help serve the hidden interests of others. And the issue that seems important to people (gay marriage in this case) is not even affected in any way by Brendan being sidelined. But you can clearly see the effects that the new leadership - lot more interested in money, power, politics and subterfuge than tech - has had on the product.