Does fix for issue 1559549 (and the fact that importlib is in) allow for a cleaner fix for this?  I've been putting off dealing with this issue in the expectation that it would.

To answer the question: the fixed API can go in 3.3.  If we fix this in earlier versions the API should probably stay the same there, and since the above is 3.3 only, the existing patch is probably appropriate there.  

If Michael doesn't pass judgement soon I'll take a look, since this causes me problems at least once a week.