Tell me this doesn't sound like Kevin Bacon trying to calm the rioting crowd in "Animal House." The Hill:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is seeking a surge of Democratic campaign donations before the next Federal Election Commission fundraising deadline, claiming that Democrats can reach a "turning point" in their bid to reclaim the majority.

"If we continue to stand together, I believe this moment will mark the turning point on the road to a Democratic victory in 2012," Pelosi writes in a new Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraising email.

Democrats will face an uphill battle reclaiming the majority after their 2010 election night drubbing that swept Republicans into control of the House.

But in the email pitch, Pelosi argues that Republicans have provided an opening, alleging that "the American people are rejecting the Tea Party Republican agenda that puts tax breaks for the wealthiest people in our country ahead of creating jobs."

"Now, it is up to us to seize this moment," she writes. "That's why the looming October 31st FEC fundraising deadline is so critical. This is the last fundraising deadline before the one year out to Election Day marker and House Democrats must have a strong showing."

A might optimistic, wouldn't you say? In every generic congressional poll taken in recent months, the GOP has a significant edge - up to 6% - over Democrats. That's a tall order to make up, especially when you consider that the Democrats have to gain 52 seats in a year where their president is historically unpopular and redistricting has made many of them vulnerable.

Perhaps a more apt analogy would have been the captain of the Titanic reassuring passengers that they can't sink.