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I found the problem!  :D

Around line 394 of PyShell.py roughly, this function:

    def start_subprocess(self):
        # spawning first avoids passing a listening socket
to the subprocess
        self.spawn_subprocess()
        #time.sleep(20) # test to simulate GUI not accepting
connection
        addr = (LOCALHOST, self.port)
        # Idle starts listening for connection on localhost
        for i in range(3):
            time.sleep(i)
            try:
                self.rpcclt = MyRPCClient(addr)
                break
            except socket.error, err:
                pass
        else:
            self.display_port_binding_error()
            return None
        # Accept the connection from the Python execution server
        self.rpcclt.listening_sock.settimeout(10)
        try:
            self.rpcclt.accept()
        except socket.timeout, err:
            self.display_no_subprocess_error()
            return None
        self.rpcclt.register("stdin", self.tkconsole)
        self.rpcclt.register("stdout", self.tkconsole.stdout)
        self.rpcclt.register("stderr", self.tkconsole.stderr)
        self.rpcclt.register("flist", self.tkconsole.flist)
        self.rpcclt.register("linecache", linecache)
        self.rpcclt.register("interp", self)
        self.transfer_path()
        self.poll_subprocess()
        return self.rpcclt

It spawns the subprocess, but never manages to talk to it.
The socket.timeout exception is raised. Communication to the
subprocess fails in here:

            try:
                self.rpcclt = MyRPCClient(addr)
                break
            except socket.error, err:
                pass

Then, it tries to register the functions with tkconsole, and
TkInter seems to die. I haven't dug down into it yet to see
what exactly happens. But, I suspect that rpcclt is null
when self.rpcclt.register() is called.

So, it's not a Tk error. It's an error with trying to
contact the subprocess.