Sen. Richard Durbin, second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, has sent out a fundraising appeal reminding party donors that Republicans need to gain just four seats in the 2012 election to take control of the Senate.  "Four seats," Durbin says.  "That's all it would take to lose our Senate majority.  I know: I count the votes."
Durbin calls the possibility of Republican victory a "nightmare scenario."  Imagine this, he tells donors: "Senators who want to end Medicare writing health policy.  Lawmakers who think global warming is a hoax chairing the environment committee.  President Obama's Supreme Court nominees wouldn't stand a chance."
Durbin says the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee needs to raise $119,806 online to stay within its projected fundraising goals.  "I know it seems early," Durbin writes.  "But Republicans -- and the Koch Brothers, and Karl Rove -- certainly aren't waiting, and neither can we."
Even as Republicans fret about their presidential field, they remain confident about GOP prospects in the Senate.  Far more Democrats than Republicans are up for re-election in 2012, including in some states where President Obama is unpopular.  Durbin's nervous appeal is just one sign that Democrats have a lot to worry about when it comes to the Senate.