Senators got a little testy when they were debating confirmation of Phil Reberger, a top GOP operative and Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s former longtime chief of staff, to the Idaho Judicial Council. The council selects and disciplines judges. Sen. Mike Burkett, D-Boise, said the appointment would compromise the longstanding independence of the courts.

“Their independence is not to be sacrificed to the unbridled desire to concentrate power in the hands of a few ambitious men,” Burkett told the Senate.

Later in the debate, Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, responded. “We’re fortunate that our founding fathers in the state of Idaho were ambitious men,” he said. “Thank goodness for ambition.”

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