Jeff Merkley in 2014 OR Senate debate

On Drugs: Positives of pot legalization outweigh the negatives

"I think folks on both sides of the argument make a good case," Merkley said. "And there is concern about a series of new products--and we don't have a real track record from Colorado and Washington. But I feel on balance that we spend a lot of money on our criminal justice system in the wrong places and I lean in favor of this ballot measure."

While politicians nationwide have been reluctant to stake out a position on the issue, Merkley is unlikely to be the last to so explicitly announce his support for legalization as attitudes toward the drug continue to shift. As an increasingly clear majority of Americans support the idea of legalizing the drug, more are expected to follow.

On Foreign Policy: In a dangerous world, we need to work with other nations

On Civil Rights: Ensure that women earn equal pay for equal work

What Merkley says: "It's wrong that even today, women in Oregon make just 79 cents for every dollar a man makes, and minority women experience an even greater gap in earnings. I co-sponsored and helped pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to ensure women employees can have their day in court when they are the victims of illegal wage discrimination. I am now fighting to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, the next step we must take to ensure women earn equal pay for equal work."

Wehby's response: "Senator Merkley's approach to this issue is not only wrong, but will only exacerbate the problem of discrimination against women in our economy. A bill like this will encourage job creators to look for labor substitution. I would have voted no."

On Free Trade: Support free-trade, but wait on Trans-Pacific Partnership

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has his own somewhat more restrictive O&C plan. Conger flatly says he would vote against it if the Wyden plan came to the Senate floor. Wehby says she'd wait to see the final form.

Both lean toward supporting free-trade pacts. But neither is ready to commit on the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership or on legislation--known as Trade Promotion Authority--that would allow an up-or-down congressional vote on any trade agreement approved by negotiators.

On Jobs: Minimum wage should be left to the states

Wehby later clarified that she believes the minimum wage "should be left to the states." When asked this week if that meant she would oppose an increase in the federal minimum wage--as Democrats are trying to do in Congress--Wehby said, "You know, I'd have to look at each piece of legislation."

On Health Care: I couldn't enroll in ObamaCare, but it'll eventually succeed

The senator said he still hasn't been able to finish enrolling his own family through Cover Oregon, although he said afterwards that he is still has insurance for the time being through his existing congressional plan. Under the new law, members of Congress are required to get their coverage through the exchanges.

Merkley said he continues to believe the new law is still on balance a positive because it has expanded coverage to large numbers of previously uninsured people. "We're going to have some success stories, we're going to have some failure stories," said Merkley. "We have to work on it."

On Health Care: 2009: "Keep your insurance"; 2014: fix ObamaCare so you can

Merkley acknowledged in November that he and other supporters of the new law did not foresee how it would fail to prevent a wave of cancellations of existing policies. The senator also joined other Democrats in sponsoring a bill that would allow consumers to keep existing policies if they wanted.

The new Wehby video features footage of a Sept. 4, 2009 town hall meeting in which Merkley said: "You would have the choice of sticking with the plan you have. If you like it, it will be absolutely there." The ad ends with a catchy slogan: "Keep your doctor. Change your senator."

A Merkley spokeswoman said that the senator has worked to fix problems with the new law rather than simply undo the new federal health care law.

On Government Reform: Nuclear option: Allow confirmation of Obama's appointees

"This is a terrific vote for the US Senate," said Merkley. "The American people want this institution to function. They want to see it take on the big issues. They don't want to see the entire calendar of the year eaten up by paralyzing process on nominations."

Filibuster reform has long been a marquee issue for Merkley (OR) & Udall (NM), who are part of a new breed of Senate reformers who have never served in the minority. Now, they're looking to expand their change to filibuster rules governing legislation--but that's going to be a much harder sell.

Critics of the two first-term senators say they led a movement they don't even understand--they have only served in the majority, longtime GOP senators charge, and don't appreciate ways that the filibuster has been used to the benefit of the country in the past.

On Health Care: AdWatch: Targeted by RNC robocalls for support of ObamaCare

The targets besides Merkley are Reps. Gary Peters (MI) and Bruce Braley (IA), Sens. Mark Warner (VA), Mark Begich (AK), Dick Durbin (IL), Kay Hagan (NC), Mary Landrieu (LA), Mark Pryor (AR), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), and Mark Udall (CO). The robocall script reads:

"President Obama and the Democrats said you could keep your healthcare plan under ObamaCare. Now we know [SENATOR] actually VOTED to make it more difficult. Call [SENATOR] at (XXX)-XXX-XXX & ask why [he/she] lied."

The robocalls are a response to Democrats launching the "GOP Shutdown Watch" campaign, highlighting Republican senate candidates who supported the partial federal government shutdown.