My personal opinion is that the sables got thrown out..not because of the color..but a personal vendetta against a well-know sable breeder. 
Now guess what she is breeding now? Right! Very nice roans. How "convenient" it would be to suddenly disallow the roans (personal vendetta here again) because of an argument that  people can't tell the difference between them and merles!!! Catch my drift? ASC IMO, isn't going to do a damn thing about this issue because it would be "killing 2 birds" with one stone. 
So yes, we DO need to work at getting AKC to register merles as merles, whether we like them, or approve of them or not.
 
 

You have to remember the mindset of ASC. To them, there are only 4 acceptable colors- buff, black, r/w and b/w. If browns came to the mainstream during the age of the internet, I bet you they'd have had a real hard time, too, not that they didn't. It's an "old school" board and they don't like change. Some of the old-timer's don't even like partis, lol. 
I also think they don't even want to acknowledge the existence of merles, legit or not, doesn't matter to them. 
The "Pandora's Box" opened with the arrival of the sudden boom in merle breeding, not whether ASC can or even should add the color. 
Now, they have a REAL good excuse to dismiss roan and sable. If you can't tell a merle from a roan or sable, how do you know they ALL aren't?? See the danger here and how easy it would be for them to slide that right on past everyone? 
 I say we MAKE them acknowledge the difference before it's too late and NOTHING can be done but idly sit and wait for them to vote on the sable issue again, only this time it will be the sable and roan issue, I'm afraid. 

Please understand this is not a witch hunt, it's a fact finding mission, all opinions are welcome and with discussion comes knowledge,
I have had sables since 79, so I have been thru the wars! and I believe this is a free country, people have the right to do as their conscience dictates, I'm very proud of my sables and will defend them until I'm no longer here to do it.
But Merle is a Health risk, and we don't need more problems in our breed, IF I had seen 1 , even 1 health trait that the sable brought into the gene pool I would have stopped breeding them in an instant! 
It is our fear that people who do not know what they are, and doesn't have a clue about the genetics will be pairing them up and we will have disasters.
 I have seen this in a litter if shelties here in our local pound they were dropped off because the whole litter has different degrees of blindness hearing loss or both , it just broke my heart they were so sweet but ours is not a no kill shelter,! do you think they will be adopted!

Our present day cockers came to be because of other dogs bred into their pedigrees years ago...and when I say years, am talking maybe 100 or more.  If I am not mistaken a spaniel who is now extinct was part of this too..

Doesn't that make this merle gene then after so many generations something that has become part of the dog no matter how it was introduced?

Not saying it wasn't a mutation..just giving both sides of this issue the benefit of the doubt..

My thoughts are ok, we figured out the (maybe) how and why...so now since it is here, how do we teach John Q. Public the dangers and responsibilities of these dogs?

Wouldn't it be better to try to work with all these "unique" cocker breeders, not putting them down, but having them agree to spay/neuter any dogs they sell...thereby keeping those who don't have a clue on genetics or the problem from breeding what they get with those potential problems?

Learning is one of the best things we humans do..and if we approach people with our concerns, am hoping that anyone who really cares would listen.

I'm surprised at all the controversy surrounding this color. 
    Well, here goes.  I own a merle and this is what I can tell you about him.   His coat is undesirable in that it is coarse and brittle. He has recurring skin problems (open sores) and runny eyes and is contstantly being treated with antibiotics.  He has produced some beautiful puppies early on but occassionally some of his offspring will end up with horriffic bites.  I was told I was purchasing a ROAN but the breeder I bought him from did not know the difference between merle and roan.   I also traced his pedigree back to a puppy mill in missouri.   Having said all that, please don't persecute me because what I can also tell you is that he is one of THE sweetest cockers I have ever encountered.  It's quite heartbreaking. 
   He is being neutered monday.