Elizabeth Warren is one lucky lady. It’s not just anyone who could spend years cultivating a reputation as a pathological liar and still have the media on their side, but Elizabeth Warren has managed to do it.

Despite having no evidence to back up her assertions that Bernie Sanders has been sexist toward her, Warren continues to treat Sanders as though he has — and her water carriers in the media are only too happy to lend a hand. L.A. Times opinion columnist Virginia Heffernan has written an op-ed whose purpose is basically to paint Elizabeth Warren as a stunning, brave, and empowered woman refusing to put up with Bernie Sanders’ pathological sexism at Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate:

They are all in. pic.twitter.com/DKic3KgIdM — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) January 16, 2020

Heffernan writes:

Sure, during the debate, Sanders had gaslighted Warren over whether he told her a female candidate couldn’t win the 2020 election. But now he wanted her to forgive and forget. If he could be seen shaking her hand, he might be off the hook. But… nope. Warren didn’t play along. Sanders huffed off. … When the Sanders campaign said Warren lied, and Sanders himself insisted outrageously on his feminist bona fides (in a million years), and then tried to buttonhole Warren into a handshake only to storm off when he couldn’t seal the deal — all that only enacted the sexism he was at pains to deny. … Warren won. She also proved she’s a master strategist. She didn’t let Sanders get away with denying he’s sexist Tuesday night. Instead, she checkmated him into proving it.

That’s even richer than Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders combined.

So Bernie Sanders is a “ruling-class” sexist with “cardiac issues" for forcefully denying he made a sexist comment. And he’s super sexist for his “stock male move” of trying to shake Warren’s hand, who “refused to be touched.” https://t.co/W9ZKEOrL8f — Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) January 16, 2020

and he "buttonholed" her into a handshake by standing still while she walked up to him. — Leighton Woodhouse (@lwoodhouse) January 16, 2020

What? Do we even want to know?

Trying to shake someone's hand means you are literally raping them now. — James Whitney (@HouseAtreidesV) January 16, 2020

Substantive policy based criticisms — carmen mckinsley (@clydethedog1) January 16, 2020

Obviously his denial is inherently illegitimate because of the shade and shape of his genitals. — Matthew (@MatthewHealy951) January 16, 2020

Imagine your argument essentially boiling down to just that and feeling good about it.

I think I'm most mad that I'm starting to feel bad for Bernie. — james (@jmwillwerth) January 16, 2020

Congratulations, universe. You win. We actually feel kind of bad for Bernie Sanders. At least as far as this is concerned. Because it’s stupid. It’s just so stupid.