Can the GOP elevate its game for 2010?

For the Republican Party, 2010 could be the beginning of the end, or the beginning of a new, more engaged and complex political movement.

After two vicious political cycles — in 06 and 08 — there are signs that the GOP might just compete effectively next year.

Democratic governors are stumbling in places like New Jersey, New York and Virginia that have been Dem strongholds in recent contests.

The musical chairs that followed President Barack Obama’s election also left a number of Democratic US Senators vulnerable, in Illinois, Maryland and New York.

Added to these tactical openings, Democrats are confronting new public animosity over their deficit spending and their handling of the economy.

Good times for Republicans?

Maybe. The question now is whether the GOP can marshal its forces and present a new, more modern and inclusive platform.

Not just a P-R message.

That old gambit — hiding the hard-line conservative agenda behind a few moderate talking points — won’t play anymore.

Republicans need some real ideas about healthcare, climate change, job creation and the economy.

They also need to figure out what to do with all their baggage. From the Obama Birthers to Sarah Palin. From scandal-icons like Sen. John Ensign and Gov. Mark Sanford

Republicans understand that their brand needs an overhaul, in ways that just opposing Barack Obama can’t touch.

Here’s Ohio Senator George Voinovich, speaking with the Columbus Dispatch:

“We got too many Jim DeMints (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburns (R-Ok.).s th It’s the southerners. They get on TV and go ‘errrr, errrrr.’ People hear them and say, ‘These people, they’re southerners. The party’s being taken over by southerners. What they hell they got to do with Ohio?” said Voinovich.

Not very delicate, but there’s some truth to what he’s saying.

For Republicans to seize big opportunities in the Northeast — Connecticut, New Jersey, New York — they have to assure voters that their party is moving in the right direction.

The on-line journal Politico is generally bullish on the GOP’s chances, but they include a coujple of caveats:

-Republicans still poll horribly in generic surveys, meaning individiual candidates aren’t being helped by their party labels.

-There’s been no significant surge in GOP voter registration, a growing problem in competitive districts.

-Despite some openings, Republicans will also be defending a lot of turf in 2010, thanks in large part to scandals and resignations. The GOP may even lose one or two more Senate seats.