Yep, they saw no real backlash to doing this for the Python one, then decided to do it here as well.
They are not in a position to voice dissent, unlike de Icaza, who has a great programming record and courage.
His reaction is unexpected though -- after all this is the playbook FSF is always warning as a possible path. He must have been aware of the possible paths and the fear of them when Novell was trying to bring C# onto Linux / Gnome.