This is absolutely not the case. His political writings and interventions got publicity the same reason as for many other people who were in academia in the 196

This is absolutely not the case. His political writings and interventions got publicity the same reason as for many other people who were in academia in the 1960s: public opposition to the Vietnam war. This was a fulcrum in American (and western) culture and opposition germinated strongly on college campuses, so plenty of people in academia got a bit of "fame" as a result of this. Most people I know who have read Chomsky have read his political writings only, and barely know him for his linguistics, and he almost never in any of his writings blurs the distinction between the two or mentions one in the context of the other. I'd say rather his linguistics career has been mostly something that ran parallel to, not intersecting with, his interventions in debate about foreign policy etc.