This afternoon, in a conference call with bloggers, Defense Department General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson and Army Gen. Carter F. Ham — the co-charimen of the Pentagon’s Working Group studying the impact of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — responded to critics like Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) who condemned the review for not asking servicemembers if they believed the policy should be repealed. “I think that asking the force to vote on any significant policy matter. I can’t think of a good outcome that comes out of that,” Ham said in respone to my question:

HAM: We don’t poll the force about potential military operations. We didn’t poll the army that says, you know, do you agreee with 12 or 15 month-long combat tours. So I think that this notion that a referendum is contrary to our tradition and customs and I would not like to see us travel down that path. The work that Mr. Johnson and I undertook was rather can we do this, and I think our report answers that pretty clearly.

Both men also responded to McCain’s most recent suggestion that the Service Chiefs — who Gates described as less senguine of repeal than the report co-chairs — were more qualified in assessing the impacts of repeal than leaders in Washington. McCain is quoted by the Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz this afternoon as dismissing the views of Secretary of Defense Gates and President Obama, saying “neither of which I view as a military leader.”

“We talked to military leaders on the ground. We talked to military leaders everywhere….We got a collective sense from leaders in all the services about the impact of repeal,” Johnson added, implying that that the majority did not see risk in repeal.

Significantly, Ham also attributed the lower support for repeal from Army and Marine combat forces to their lack of experience with gay soldiers:

HAM: One of the factors that causes a difference in the Army and the Marine Corps combat arms responses when compared to the overall responses is that we find in those two communities, Army and Marine Corps combat arms, — and this is probably unsurprising — that those communities have lower rates of actual experience of having served alongside a gay or lesbian servicemember. They’re all male organizations. They are the youngest communities, if you will, within the military. So you know, it’s not really surprising that they have less actual experience serving with gay and lesbian servicemembers. We did find in the survey that there is a difference between servicemembers who have and those who have not served with gay and lesbian servicemembers. And I think this may be one of the significant contributors to the differences between combat arms responses and the force overall.

Both Ham and Johnson will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow, along with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen. The Service Chiefs will come before the Committee on Friday.

This morning, despite Secretary of Defense Robert Gate’s urgent plea for the Senate to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal in the lame duck session, all 42 Republican Senators signed a letter agreeing to block any legislation “from reaching the Senate floor until President Barack Obama and Congress figure out a way to extend a series of expiring Bush-era tax cuts and pass legislation to fund the government into next year.” But a spokesperson for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) — a strong supporter of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — told Greg Sargent that while “the Senate should be focused on taxes and the economy (especially since the tax provisions expire on January 1) and obviously we need to pass a bill funding the government before Friday,” “she believes there is time to consider other issues as well, and she has made it clear that if the Majority Leader brings the Defense Authorization bill to the floor, for example, and allows sufficient debate and amendments, she would vote to proceed to the bill.”

Now, two other potential Republican swing votes — Sens. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — are moving closer to Collins’ position. In phone conversations this afternoon, their spokespeople told me that they too would vote for the motion to proceed on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — the measure that includes DADT repeal — if it’s considered through an open amendment process:

- MURKOWSKI: “Yea, of course, [the NDAA] is a priority but she believes, like her colleagues, that first she wants to see the Senate take care of the budget and of these looming tax increases.” Spokesperson Mike Brumas also stressed that Murkowski would consider the testimony of the Service Chiefs before reaching a decision and that the NDAA would have to be considered under an open amendment process.

- LUGAR: Spokesperson Mark Hayes made it clear that Lugar considered the tax cuts, the continuing resolution and START his top three priorities for the lame duck session, but said that the Senator would vote for cloture under an open amendment process. “If it’s structured debate that is fair to both sides, he would for the motion to proceed.”

Interestingly, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) — the sponsor of repeal in the Senate — is also arguing that extending the Bush tax cuts and approving a continuing resolution should come before NDAA and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal. This morning, he urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) — who has promised to bring NDAA to the floor — to allow Senators enough time to debate the measure. “Will we take the time to have the debate, not just on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell but on the underlining Defense Authorization bill,” he said. “And I can tell you that some of the Republicans who want to be for this, also want to make sure that Senator Reid offers them a fair amendment process.”

Moments ago, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said President Obama has not contacted swing Senators since the release of the Pentagon’s DADT report, but revealed that Gates has. He also admitted that the administration has “not provided specific calendar guidance” for when the Senate should consider the NDAA, but reiterated that passing the measure was “tremendously” important.

This morning, during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) — the sponsor of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in the Senate — said he has been “talking” to his friend Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) but was “not making progress in my effort” to sway him to vote for cloture on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — the underlining bill that includes the repeal amendment. Lieberman reiterated that he believes he has 60 votes for cloture on the bill and urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to bring up the measure under an open amendment process:

LIEBERMAN: I don’t know if I can say I’ve been lobbying my friend John McCain, I’ve been talking to him. I can say that I’m not making progress in my efforts with Senator McCain. But I believe we have more than 60 Senators, including a good solid handful of Republicans who are prepared to vote to take up the Armed Services bill, which already has within it the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

And the real challenge here is the clock. Will we take the time to have the debate, not just on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell but on the underlining Defense Authorization bill. And I can tell you that some of the Republicans who want to be for this, also want to make sure that Senator Reid offers them a fair amendment process.

Watch it:

Still it remains unclear if moderate Republicans — who had said they would wait for the results of the study before deciding how to vote on the measure — are interested in pursuing the measure during the lame duck session, with some GOP leaders hinting that they will try to run-out the clock or pressure Democrats to drop the measure in return for Republican cooperation on the New START treaty:

- SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): “It’s possible, in my view, to do some serious things in the lame duck…It’s not possible to do START, taxes, unemployment insurance, the Dream Act, the firefighters thing and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

- SEN. BOB CORKER (R-TN): “To me the question is: Does the majority want to take up START, if they do that means really not taking up all of these other issues they continue to talk about…Let’s deal with the issue of extending tax policy, let’s deal with the continuing resolution (to fund the government) and let’s spend the couple of weeks that it might take on the floor with START.”

- SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “I think the view — the unanimous view of Senate Republicans is let’s take care of the tax issue; let’s take care of how we’re going to fund the government for the next 10 months; and then if there’s time left for other matters, it will be up to the majority leader, Senator Reid, to decide whether we turn to other things before we adjourn for the year.”

The other alternative for Republicans, moreover, would be to strip so-called “controversial” provisions out of the NDAA and pass a slimmer version of the measure.

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold hearings into the Pentagon’s report about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell tomorrow and Friday and advocates expect Reid to clarify how he will proceed with the matter before the end of the week.