A growing list of Democrats — including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI), Mark Udall (D-CO), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) — are joining Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT)’s call to stay in session as long as necessary to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal amendment. This afternoon, Lieberman appeared on Fox News to argue that the measure was a matter of military priority:

LIEBERMAN: If we don’t pass the defense bill because people are blocking it because of repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, it will be the first time since the 1960s that Congress hasn’t passed the Defense Authorization Bill. And the reason we pass it every year is that our troops need it. We authorize money for pay increases, we authorize money for more housing for their families. There is money in there for…the protective vehicles that are troops are using more and more particularly now in Afghanistan. [...]

Nobody wants to be here over Christmas. I don’t want to be here over Christmas. The question is, do we arbitrarily say December 17th? Most American workers work right through that following week and then go home for Christmas and I hope we can do that because it would be just outrageous if we don’t pass the authorization and repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell which is supported, I think, by a strong majority of the members of the Senate….Incidentally, our troops will be working right through the end of the year and beyond. Because that’s what they do for us. We owe it to them to pass this bill, which they need for benefits that they otherwise would.

Watch it:

Yesterday, a spokesperson for Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) — long considered a swing vote on the issue — told me that the Senator would also be willing to stay past Christmas to have enough time to debate the issue. Asked if he would vote for cloture if Reid extended the session and provided more time for debate, the aide said Lugar is “leaning that way.”

Meanwhile, the Servicemembers’ Legal Defense Network (SLDN) is organizing rally on Friday to pressure the Senate to remain in Washington until it passes the NDAA.

As Congress prepares to hold a vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Liz Cheney — who had come out in favor of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell earlier this year — reiterated the need to lift the ban during a speech sponsored by the National Center for Policy Analysis. An amendment to repeal the measure is part of the NDAA.

After a speech last week in Texas, during which Cheney defended he father’s legacy and criticized Obama for reversing some of the Bush administration’s policies, she found common ground with the President on DADT:

There was, however, at least one controversial issue on which she agreed with Obama and most Democrats: repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for gays in the military.

Cheney – whose sister, Mary, is openly gay – pointed out that several top military officials support the repeal and that a recent Pentagon report showed such action wouldn’t affect the military’s readiness or defense capabilities.

“It’s time,” she said in an interview after the event.

In February, shortly after Obama announced that he would work to lift the ban in his State of the Union address, Cheney told TPMDC, “It’s time for it to end.” “The joint chiefs, certainly the chairman of the joint chiefs, has been clear about that and I think that the country really is at a place now where it’s time for it to end.” Unfortunately, Cheney did not say if she intended on lobbying Republican Senators to allow Reid to bring the measure to a vote in the Senate. A spokesperson for Keep America Safe — an organization Cheney co-founded — told me they had no immediate plans to press the issue.

A CBS News poll released on December 3, found that “69 percent of Americans believe gay men and women should be allowed to serve openly in the military” — an increase of seven points since October. “Just 23 percent oppose allowing gay men and women to serve openly.”

The Associated Press is reporting that Joe Manchin (D-WV) — who had previously told me that he didn’t “believe the rules should be changed until the battlefield commanders can certify it doesn’t hurt unit cohesion” — is now hinting that he would vote against lifting the ban in the lame duck session. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Manchin reiterated his concerns about lifting the ban during a time of war and the effect the change would have on military chaplains:

“They don’t believe that it should be invoked at a point of time when they’re engaged in combat, because it would be a hard transition for them,” Manchin said. “So, if someone’s trying to push that through with a vote quicker, it might not be prudent. I’m not sure if the votes would be there to do that.” [...]

“Do the clergy believe that this makes (it) harder for them to do the mission that they believe in, which is preaching the Gospel and the Bible as they believe, or does it kind of give them a pause, if you will,” Manchin said.

To be clear, the Pentagon’s Working Group survey met Manchin’s first requirement — that is, it concluded that repeal would not undermine unit cohesion — and addressed his new concerns.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen both urged Congress to lift the ban before the courts force the military to act at the turn of a dime and the Service Chiefs all testified that they would be able to effectively implement repeal during a time of war. Responding to Manchin’s question about the effect of repeal on the chaplains, all five Service Chiefs said that repeal would have a “small” effect on attrition.