Lieberman: Votes are There to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

CBS/AP

Updated 5:06 p.m. Eastern Time

Independent Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman said Friday that he is "confident" that there are now enough votes in the Senate to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and send a repeal bill to the president to sign. The vote could come as early as tomorrow.

Supporters of repeal have twice brought to the Senate floor a measure that would allow repeal the 1993 policy banning gay men and women from serving openly in the military, but both times they fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican-led filibuster.

Many Republicans who said they were sympathetic to repeal said they voted no because of procedural concerns about the way Democrats introduced the measure, which was actually a Defense authorization bill with the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal attached.

In the wake of those defeats, supporters in both the House and Senate introduced a standalone repeal bill. That bill passed the House on Wednesday, and the Senate is planning to vote on it this weekend.

Backers of repeal see this weekend's vote as the last, best chance to repeal the policy before a more Republican Congress takes over in January.

Here's how the Senate gets to 60 votes: There are 58 senators who caucus with Democrats, and all but West Virginia's Joe Manchin and potentially North Dakota's Kent Conrad appear poised to back the bill.

That makes 56 votes. There are at least four Republicans who say they will vote for repeal: Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. In addition, Dick Lugar of Indiana and George Voinovich of Ohio are considering voting for repeal. That adds up to 60 to 62 votes, and more Republicans could peel off and back the bill if repeal seems inevitable.

"I continue to believe that we are going to end up with more support on the Republican side than the four that we've talked about and that is very encouraging," Lieberman said Friday.

(One side note: Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon will undergo prostate surgery on Monday. But his office says he will be in the Senate for the votes over the weekend.)

As Lieberman acknowledged Friday, a "surprise" development could still derail the bill. One possibility would be for Republicans to abandon their support for reasons similar to those that sank the effort last time around, the procedure for introducing amendments to the measure.

Yet he expressed optimism that the bill was on its way to passage during the lame-duck session.

"I don't think it's going to be credible for anybody to say for a technical procedural reason, even though I support the principle, I'm not going to vote for it," he said.

If the bill to repeal DADT passes in its current form, it will still be quite some time before gays can serve openly in the military.

First the president must sign the bill and he and military leaders must certify a Pentagon report that found that while there are short-term challenges to repealing the policy, there would be minimal overall risk to military effectiveness if it were to be repealed. That's the easy part. Then the Pentagon would begin an implementation plan, which consists of training troops and rewriting all the policies and regulations that would be affected.

Taking the necessary time to institute the policy correctly has been one of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' strongest arguments for legislative repeal: If the matter is left to the courts and they mandate an immediate repeal, he has suggested, the military will not have sufficient time to properly implement the policy change.

The Pentagon is being deliberately vague about how long the entire procedure would take, but at one point Gates said it could take up to a year.

No gays have been discharged since procedures were changed in October to require each discharge to be personally approved by the civilian head of whatever service the service-member belongs to.

In terms of what to expect Saturday: There are two votes scheduled in the Senate, on cloture (to cut off debate) for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the DREAM Act. The votes may begin around 10 am. If "Don't Ask" gets 60 votes for cloture, a 30-hour debate clock begins before a final vote.

That would set the final vote for Sunday -- though lawmakers could agree to give up that time and just get on with the final vote tomorrow afternoon or evening. They could also kick the final vote to Monday to avoid having to work on Sunday.

Stay tuned. 

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Brian Montopoli is senior political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of his posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter.

[thebob-bob]

The United States of America is not the enforcer of Religious Doctrine. You can't enforce your own narrow interpretation of a particular brand of religion on non-believers.

There is now enormous scientific evidence that homosexuality is part of the normal distribution of sexual behavior in The Natural World. If you want to "believe" that the science is wrong (flat earth? evolution? climate change?) go ahead. Your beliefs don't counter my constitutional rights.

[Doomsday666666]

God does not judge based on constitutions, corrupt, fraudulent public opinion polls or referendums. In short, God's laws trump all that is contrary in mans's laws, to his. You don't have the right to break God's laws! God gives the rights, not man. Whether you accept the truth or not, you are subject and accountable to it ultimately. I hope on judgment day, you won't justify your homosexual sin by saying the constitution gave you the right. I laugh and shudder to think how foolish you will look standing naked before God trying to argue such a weak, empty case. God is sovereign over both Church and State. Further, separation of church is not in the Constitution. Read the history of the 5 to 4 Supreme Court ruling. The judge who wrote the majority opinion was a KKK grand wizard and a rabid anti-Catholic. Besides, the Courts don't always get it right. In addition, the constitution requires unity of Christianity and State, but it prohibits the State from setting up a particular Christian denomination as the State religion. It's a prohibition against sectarianism, not unity of Christianity and State. As for the so-called evidence that homosexuality is part of the normal distribution of sexual behavior in the natural world. First, give me the primary source document/s for this "enormous evidence." I want to know the name of every person that contributed to the so-called enormous evidence. I want names, dates and ways to reference the primary source documents. Second, I want to know who funded the studies, what individuals and organizations. Did they receive Government taxpayer funded grants to conduct the so-called studies? I want to know the credentials of all the individuals that contributed to the research. I want to know their political affiliation and what clubs and organization they belong to. I want to know if there were any other independent studies that did similar research. The truth of the matter is, there is no real scientific evidence at all, you are either purposely lying or you have been deceived yourself. But for the sake of the argument lets examine your claim. I'm not disputing that homosexual desires are not common in the natural world. They are quite common, as are other sinful desires like lying, stealing, fornication etc. However, what is normal or common is not always righteous, and not a sin. God does not judge on a curve, if every human being were to lie or engage in homosexual sex, it might therefore be considered normal and/or natural to man, but that doesn't mean it's not a sin. I don't suppose you are going to tell God, well I committed homosexual abominations because a lot of people did it and I concluded along with enormous scientific evidence that it was part of the normal distribution of sexual behavior. Tell me you aren't going to use such a fallacious, flimsy argument. Rather than looking for ways to justify and rationalize your sin, why not just read God's word on the subject, since he will have the final say on human history. Let's wrap up your session. Homosexual desires are common and normal, so you believe, but homosexual behavior does not equate to identity anymore than eye color and skin color are identity or behaviors. Further, desires do influence behaviors but they are not conclusive. We still have to make a conscience choice to either control our impulses/desires or suffer the consequences if we submit to the ones that are sins. Rationalizing and justifying wrong, sinful behavior doesn't remove accountability on judgment day. Homosexuality no matter how "normal" or common is a sin, so says God, Leviticus 18:22. And the wages of all sin is death.

[mikeyar4723]

scottpatrick1234 so what you are saying, is because one almighty, illogical, arbitrary moral dictator is noted to have said that man and woman is supposed to join in marriage, and that means that its opposite is automatically wrong. Clearly you are a man of sense. and can i just say, it is not an attempt to join, it is a joining of two beings, who love each other. And if it is contradictory to God's creation then why did he supposedly create me in such a way? and isn't your god supposed to love his creation and forgive them? then if he is real then he can surely pardon me for the way in which he "made" me.

[Doomsday666666]

The argument/excuse God "made" you that way won't fly. First, it's not true. Second, because even though you have been born with original sin, you still chose to sin and it's you who made a conscience decision to sin. You ask, isn't God suppose to forgive? Really, what else don't you know about God? God is not suppose to do anything and he can't act contrary to his nature. God can't stop being God and he's always righteous. Which means whatever he does that we don't understand is righteous. If we both end up experiencing his wrath for eternity it's because it is righteous. You don't understand, you have things backwards, we are his creation to do what he wants with us for his good pleasure and glory. You can't argue with God, it is futile. There is no shadow of turning with God. He is the potter and we are the clay. How foolish it is for the clay to say to the potter, "why did you make me this way?" Romans 9:1-25 is your homework. Other than homosexuality what other sins are you accountable to God for?

[Doomsday666666]

brewafunk, if what I say is not true and you homosexual offenders and sympathizers are on the side of God, as you suggest, then why did you even bother to respond to my post? After all as you wrote:

"God does not need humans to spread God's "message". God's message is infinite, almighty and everlasting and it is only the devil, Doomsday666666, who needs disciples to spread a message of hate."

Ahh, you have been trapped by one wiser, more keen and clever than you and the demon/s who posses you. Now, according to your theory God is so great and almighty he doesn't need a defense or us humans spreading his Gospel, this is by your own admission. So according to your belief, your response to my post must be an act of evil and a message of hate inspired by Satan. Hahahahah, you dumb fool! You homosexual offenders and sympathizers make my case for me, thank you. All right demon, you lose again, greater is he who is in me, than he who is in the world. The foolishness of God is wiser than man or any demon. Keep on spreading your lies and you will only have yourself to thank for your eternal destruction. God's wrath is real and for eternity! Yes, even the demon/s residing within you will weep and gnash for eternity. God, not man will have the final say on human history. You and your kind will have an eternity to contemplate the worth and benefit your sins and lies gave you on this earth, all the time under the holy wrath of God. I will bet after a second of experiencing God's wrath you will wish you had repented and will do everything within your power to convince God you have one less sin than you do. I write this not to scare you, but to remind you of what you are working so hard for. Repent now "brewafunk" while you still have time. Satan your master is not your friend, he seeks your death and destruction, we beg you to repent!

[WeHappyFew]

American traditional family values what a joke! Look at what the average American will feed their own children. Observe the way the adults in 'normal families' give themselves permission to indulge in crappy behaviour. Divorce, cheating, fighting, neglecting and otherwise behaving abusively towards the children heterosexuals believe they have a right to produce.
Add to all this the forced indoctrination of children into a world of bronze age superstition and mythical hoodoo that would stretch the incredulity of the credulous mind.
Most Americans put more research into buying a car than how to be a worthwhile parent and family member.




A heterosexual parent and family member.

[formrusmcsgt]

by Cassarit

I find homosexuals and homosexuality disgusting.

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I find those who are disgusted by entire categories of people to be the most disgusting of all, myself.

[bubbafrombama]

It's all but over now! All you BIGOTS can stop attempting to thwart the end of DADT. Thank you, Senators, especially Lieberman & Collins, & the other Republicans who broke rank! You did the right thing, & we are so very proud of you, & especially of our brave men & women who will now be able to serve & protect us without the discrimination & fear your Republican colleagues have attempted to continue allowing within our military.

[gruven13777]

No very surprising we can comment on this but we can't comment on the Dream Act getting shot down. The lib media only likes comments on stories that go their way.

[formrusmcsgt]

You're spot-on there, pal.

FNC is "Fair and Balanced".

Hilarious!

[Birdman04]

DADT passed procedural vote in Senate.............

[formrusmcsgt]

by bigsk8fan December 18, 2010 11:32 AM EST
republicans and conservatives are so proud to show off their ignorance. these same folks work right alongside gays in our regular workforce like the rest of america.
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How about in their own party!

Do a search for repub gays and see what pops up.

[formrusmcsgt]

by bigsk8fan December 18, 2010 11:32 AM EST
republicans and conservatives are so proud to show off their ignorance.
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Yes they are but are always careful to attempt to mask their bigotry with claims of it being for "national defense" (SB 1070, for example) or "traditional or family values", etc.

A bigot never admits to being same.

Never.