{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"merkley","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es","author_name":"Merkley","author_url":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es","title":"Sen. Merkley does the right thing - Merkley","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"lr2t0F52wg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/sen-merkley-does-the-right-thing\/\">El senador Merkley hace lo correcto<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/sen-merkley-does-the-right-thing\/embed\/#?secret=lr2t0F52wg\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Sen. Merkley does the right thing&#8221; &#8212; Merkley\" data-secret=\"lr2t0F52wg\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n<\/script>","description":"In the lore of Congress, there is a fabled observation that among congressmen, &ldquo;There are show horses and there are work horses.&rdquo;** Show horses are quick to seek a headline. Work horses are senators who work the phones and the cloakroom and know how to count the votes. Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley is a work horse. His latest project is to amend Senate rules to curtail the filibuster&rsquo;s proliferation. It sounds like a quixotic venture, but Merkley has gained allies and collaborators in both parties. The Senate may change its rules at the beginning of a new Congress. That will occur in January. And the key knowledge is that a vote on rule change may not be filibustered. What we know today as a filibuster used to be known as extended debate. It was originally seen as a courtesy. Unlike the much larger House of Representatives, which controls debate through rules that govern the discussion of each bill, the Senate&rsquo;s more leisurely discussion &ldquo;was designed for senators to hear each other out,&rdquo; notes Merkley. &ldquo;Now that courtesy has changed into a procedural objection to a vote that is paralyzing the Senate.&rdquo; Merkley notes that in 2010 the Senate failed to adopt a budget, and it did not consider hundreds of bills passed by the House. Also, hundreds of executive department nominations were not taken to a vote, and likewise for judicial nominations. &ldquo;Basically, we had very little that could be considered deliberation on the floor of the Senate.&rdquo; This is unglamorous work. It is essential if the Senate hopes to be more than dysfunctional. Sen. Merkley&rsquo;s work is absolutely on target. **Senate Historian Don Ritchie says the first publication of this observation was in The Washington Post &nbsp;(Jan. 14, 1947). The observation was attributed to Rep. Frederick C. Talbott &nbsp;(D-Maryland)."}