Grab a bowl of popcorn, kick back in your favorite chair and get ready to watch your (least) favorite incumbent congressman squirm. Another election year is upon us. The campaign year promises to be entertaining, passionate—maybe even revolutionary. It feels long overdue.

Republicans have an opportunity that seemed unattainable this time last year. They can reverse many of their 2008 election losses, possibly even reclaiming congressional majorities. But capitalizing on this opportunity will require them to learn from their own past failures—and the recent failures of Democrats.

In 2008, a new wave of Democrats was elected as much for who they weren’t as who they were. Americans were tired of the war, worried about the economy, and cynical about Republicans who said one thing and did another. They allowed themselves to be lulled into thinking that Democrats would be more responsible with the nation’s finances, and they threw their support behind nebulous offers of “hope” and “change.”

Unfortunately, elected Democrats proved to be different animals than candidate Democrats. In 2009, Americans discovered the real Democratic agenda: a big spending, high tax, anti-free market nanny state. The President’s and Congress’s approval ratings have since tanked as many Americans have grown concerned about the new direction of the country.

Let’s face it. Republicans could probably win many elections seats this year based purely on the fact that they aren’t Democrats. But they must do more than merely accept these default victories. Otherwise, their gains in 2010 will be as tenuous as the Democrats’ 2008 victories proved to be.

Republicans need to think about who they are, what they stand for, and what they want to accomplish for America. They need specific goals. They need a vision. And then they need to communicate that agenda to Americans in a simple, straightforward fashion. Importantly, they need to keep their promises once they are elected.

Revisiting the 1994 idea of a Contract with America could accomplish all these purposes. Republicans should propose a New Contract with America.

The writing of the contract would force Republicans to work out, in their own minds, who they are.  The presentation of the contract would tell voters what they are getting if—when—Republicans win huge victories in November. Republicans will be most successful if this contract is based on the conservative, small government principles that have served America so well in the past. It should include some of the following, basic ideas.

Repeal Democrats’ health care reform (if passed) in its entirety. Start over.  The health care reform bill pending before Congress is an unwieldy assortment of mandates, taxes, giveaways, and bribes, none of which make sense for the fiscal or physical health of the nation.  There is no sense in attempting to fix the legislation. It should be repealed. The next Congress should start over, from scratch.

Ensure that House and Senate votes take place on two long-sought, common-sense constitutional amendments: Term limits and a Balanced Budget. The language of this promise needs to be couched in terms of “ensuring a vote.” Vague promises of support for the idea of term limits or a balanced budget are insufficient. Many candidates pay lip service to these proposals because they know that such statements are popular with voters who want to be governed by fiscally sound principles and by senators and congressmen who remember what it is like to live outside the Beltway. Unfortunately, candidates often fail to act on their words once they are elected to office. Legislators know that the “yes” vote they have promised will go against their own self-interest. Unsurprisingly, their actions (or lack thereof) behind the scenes prevent these issues from ever coming up for a vote. A pledge promising best efforts to obtain an up-or-down vote might be the only way to force legislators to finally approve these amendments and place them where they belong: In the hands of the American people, who can choose to ratify the amendments.

Ensure that House and Senate votes take place on a new Federalism Amendment.  Some commentators have recently suggested that the “legislatures of two thirds of the several states, [should] call a convention for proposing amendments,” as provided by the Constitution.  The idea is well-intentioned, but such a convention would undoubtedly open up a whole can of worms. Some groups would work overtime to ensure that they are overrepresented at such a convention. The convention would inevitably produce many amendments that would harm American exceptionalism more than they would help the current fiscal crisis. Imagine the proposals that are sure to be made. Repeal the Electoral College. Enshrine new “rights” (to abortion? to health care?) into the text of the Constitution. It would be much better simply to propose, in Congress, the few amendments that are really needed. Along with the amendments discussed above, a federalism amendment could provide valuable benefits. It would reinforce the rights of states to decide issues for themselves rather than dealing with unfunded, unwieldy, one-size-fits all mandates handed down by the U.S. Congress.

Return unused stimulus funds to taxpayers. Government can’t spend its way out of a recession. For those who doubted this truth before, the unsuccessful stimulus efforts of 2009 should confirm it. Republicans should commit to reverse course.  The accumulation of more and more debt does nothing but handicap this and future generations. Government needs to quit spending taxpayer money and reduce its demands, thus allowing hard-working Americans to help themselves and each other.  Republicans need to show that they are committed to such a path.

Restore all tax cuts allowed to expire under this Congress. On January 1, 2010, dozens of taxes were raised due to congressional inactivity. Another tax, the Estate Tax (a.ka. Death Tax) will also return, in its entirety, on January 1, 2011, unless Congress acts between now and then to make the tax cut permanent. This Democratic Congress is unlikely to let this immoral tax die a peaceful death. (No pun intended!)  Republicans should pledge to re-repeal all taxes that have expired. Where possible, they should make their decision retroactive.  Americans do not need higher tax burdens in the midst of a recession.

Other ideas can be added to this list, perhaps to eliminate earmarks or to ensure that fiscally unhealthy mandates such as cap and trade never become law. But Republicans will be most successful if they keep the list as simple and straightforward as possible. They should avoid social issues, which tend to be divisive, and focus on the unifying, big picture economic items. (Enactment of a federalism amendment would cure many of the social issues anyway, because it would return these decisions to state and local entities.)

Such a strategy worked with great success to focus and unify Republicans in 1994.  It could work again now.

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