Not long after the 2010 election, the leaders of the new Republican majorities backed away from their long-standing support of an independent redistricting commission, saying there wasn't time for a commission to draw the new lines for Congress and the General Assembly in 2011.

They said the same thing after the session began in January, that they still supported a commission but not this year as they wanted to get a version of the new district maps done by April or May and have them approved by the first June.

But with the release of the maps this month, almost six months after the General Assembly convened, we now know why — and time had nothing to do with it.

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