red canary in the coal mine

[Herb Stahlke]

On MSNBC a few minutes ago, Savannah Guthrie referred to Senator
Robert Bennett's defeat in Utah as "the red canary in the coal mine,"
meaning, I think, that it's a harbinger for Republican incumbents.
The phrase gets no Google hits, so it might be original and a one-off.
 Not bad if it's original.

Herb

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