They called him “impressive” and “most qualified,” and repeatedly praised his classy politesse. Listening to the New York state senators kiss the ass of Governor Kathy Hochul’s anti-choice, anti-labor, antiblack, pro-carceral nominee for chief judge of the Court of Appeals and the State of New York, Hector LaSalle, a neophyte could be forgiven for thinking the candidate was a shoo-in.

But when the Judiciary Committee took a vote on whether to advance his nomination, they voted no, ten to nine.

It was the first time in history that a governor’s chief judge nominee had been rejected by the Senate committee, and a severe blow to the centrist governor’s power in the legislature — especially given that it was her first significant political action of the year, after nearly losing to far-right challenger Lee Zeldin in November.