Every election matters. Anyone that tells you otherwise doesn't understand politics.

That said, not every election sends sweeping messages that are easy to discern, but every election provides lessons worth learning.

And that brings us to this Tuesday's elections.

Here's the thing: The lessons are already known, no matter the results.

We know that whether Jon Corzine wins or loses, he won't get 50 percent, meaning more than half of the state voted to oust him in a very blue state.

We know that the Republican Party has to deal with two rifts, one that is ideological, the other a battle between the establishment and grassroots. The two rifts are not interchangeable.

We know that not being associated with either political party is a net plus with many voters - from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's expected victory, to Chris Daggett's influence in New Jersey, to Doug Hoffman's rise in New York's 23rd Congressional District.

And we know that the president's coattails have gotten shorter.

The first evidence, of course, appeared in Georgia late last year. That's when the Democrat in the Senate runoff got trounced, in spite of Obama's popularity peak. He simply didn't have the Obama turnout machine behind him. So even during the best of times, Obama's brand is not always transferable. So why should we believe he can be the difference now?

So it isn't about whether or not Tuesday's elections matter. Tuesday is about which party learns the messages voters are sending. And which party over-interprets or under-interprets those messages.

The angry independent
Let's start with what should be the biggest lesson: The return of the angry independent.