Chivalry is also a form of sexism

This is one of the more ridiculous arguments I’ve seen this primary season:

Let’s call Bernie Sanders latest campaign move exactly what it is:

Shabby, Bernie, shabby.

As he pursues the nomination of a party he hasn’t even deigned to join over the long term, Sanders is coming to Elizabeth Warren’s home state for two pre-Super Tuesday stops — Springfield on Friday, Boston on Saturday — in the hope of dealing her a campaign-ending defeat. He’ll be in Minnesota on Monday, with the same goal regarding Amy Klobuchar.

This makes no sense at all. It’s fine for someone trying to win the nomination to compete anywhere. Moreover, in a primary contest where the more delegates you have going into the convention the better, it’s in your interest (and, frankly, the party’s interest) to winnow the field as quickly as possible, and obviously winning in MA and/or MN would probably compel Warren and/or Klobuchar to leave the race. That’s Politics 101, not some kind of dirty trick. And, yes, some members of the Bernie Extended Cinematic Universe are more invested in beating Warren than Trump, but while annoying that can’t dictate the candidate’s campaign strategy. And while if I had a vote I would have sent in a ballot for Warren, it should be pretty obvious that if she can’t withstand a seriously contested primary in her own state she shouldn’t be the party’s nominee.

Of course, the key word in Fineman’s tweet is “female.” It’s hard to imagine him making similar arguments about Bernie trying to compete in Delaware or Indiana.