Lieberman on DADT: We Have 60

I sincerely hope that Jor Lieberman is correct that there are 60 votes to override any filibuster attempt on blocking a vote on DADT repeal. For those LGBT service members in the Hampton Roads area and throughout the U. S. military the impact of repeal would be huge and so many would no longer have to live in fear and worry. Those who want to serve in the military out of patriotism, the desire for education and training, or other legitimate reasons ought to be able to do so and not face discrimination simply because they don't subscribe to religious beliefs that allegedly trace to xenophobic wandering tribes from over 2000 years ago. And for the opponents of LGBT equality, repealing DADT would take away their ability to say "see, even the military knows that gays are sinners and inferior." I truly hope repeal happens. Here are highlights from the Advocate:
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Sen. Joe Lieberman said Thursday that repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” as part of the National Defense Authorization Act is no longer a question of votes, it’s a question of process.
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“I am confident that we have more than 60 votes prepared to take up the defense authorization with the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ if only there will be a guarantee of a fair and open amendment process, in other words, whether we’ll take enough time to do it,” Lieberman told reporters at a press conference, naming GOP senators Susan Collins and Richard Lugar as yes votes. “Time is an inexcusable reason not to get this done.”
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Lieberman, an independent, was flanked by 12 of his Democratic colleagues — a core group that seemed intent on urging the Democratic leadership to allow enough room in the Senate schedule for a debate that would be acceptable to Republicans. The senators talked about working over the weekends, and Sen. Mark Udall offered to go straight through until Christmas Eve.
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Lieberman was joined at the press conference by senators Barbara Boxer, Roland Burris, Ben Cardin, Chris Coons, Diane Feinstein, Al Franken, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Patrick Leahy, Jeanne Shaheen, Mark Udall, and Ron Wyden. Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said the most interesting development over the past several days is “the determination of a core group of senators to get repeal done this year.”
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“With Chairman [Carl] Levin and Senator Lieberman’s commitment and with the determination of the president and Majority Leader Reid to work with key Republican senators, we’re alive and we can get this done this year,” Sarvis said.
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Earlier in the day, Gen. Carter Ham, cochair of the Pentagon’s working group study, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that upcoming report on repeal is the most thorough he has ever seen on a personnel issue. “As far as I can tell, this is the most comprehensive assessment of a personnel policy matter that the Department of Defense has conducted,” Ham said.
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Sen. Jim Webb, a Democrat who has taken a cautious approach to repealing the policy, seconded Ham’s assertion. “Having spent five years in the Pentagon, I can't remember a study on this type of issue that has been done with this sort of care,” he said. “So it's going to be a very important study for us to look at and examine.”
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Preliminary reports about the study suggest that it concludes repeal poses “minimal risk” even during a time of war.