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    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 14th on 06:00

    These are my links for April 14th from 06:00 to 06:04:

    • The Uneven Senate Landscape of 2012 (and 2014) – Republican won 24 of the 37 Senate contests last year, giving them a head start not only on winning a Senate majority in 2012 but possibly winning a 60-seat supermajority two years later.

      They will need to net 26 or 27 of the remaining 67 contests over the next two cycles to win a majority in 2014, or 36 of the next 67 to get to 60 seats during the next midterm elections.

      The Senate is always a different kind of numbers game than the House. With unbalanced classes, Senate control — to say nothing about a filibuster-proof majority — hinges on which party has more seats up for election in a particular election cycle.

      When one of the political parties has a huge election night, as Republicans did last year, it automatically gives that party an opportunity to take over the Senate, whether two years later or four.

      The 2012 Senate class includes 23 Democrats and only 10 Republicans, and the stunning imbalance means that Democrats will be on the defensive throughout the cycle unless the political environment shifts dramatically to their party.

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      Read all of Stuart Rothenberg's analysis.

      The chances of GOP gains in the Senate in 2012 and 2014 look good.

    • Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise; Inflation Pressure Grows – New claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, bouncing back above the key 400,000 level, while core producer prices clumbed faster than expected in March, government reports showed on Thursday.

      Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 412,000, the Labor Department said.

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      Obamanomics is a failure – just like Jimmy Carter.

      A slow economy with high unemployment and inflation.