Women for Coakley say woman for Coakley is not for Coakley because she's a woman

The irony meter started ringing early this morning. Kennedyseat.com linked to a charge from the organization Women for Coakley that a NECN report was sexist for implying that Congresswoman Niki Tsongas might have endorsed Martha Coakley for Senate because she is a woman.

From Women for Coakley:

Reporters assume that if one man is endorsing another man it’s because that man is competent. To then turn around and ask women such a question is insulting and biased because the question’s very existence carries the presumption that the candidate’s qualifications weren’t enough to merit the endorsement.

I have no doubt that Tsongas’s endorsement is based on merit and not gender. But it’s awfully rich for “a small team of women seeking big gains for women in politics,” which is hoping to unleash “the full potential of ‘the other half’ of the population’s unique perspective, talents and leadership” to criticize someone else for asking if gender is part of the decision-making process.