Welcome to Washington, where 60 is the new 51.As important
legislation from health care to climate change moves through Congress,
the conventional wisdom is that "you need 60 votes'' to get anything
through the 100-member Senate. In fact, most bills can still pass with
51 votes. But a supermajority of 60 votes is needed to avoid a
filibuster, a last-ditch option supposedly reserved for matters of
deepest principle.
