<These people savage one of their own when she withdraws from a primary election in favor of a stronger candidate.

Who do you mean by "these people"?Most of the "savaging" for withdrawal is coming from the dems.

Assuming that the columnist is Republican, perhaps that's one. If Matt has issues with Romney and is a Republican he might feel like she is a wimp. So, maybe that's two. Consequently, I suppose that your reference to "these people" is technically correct.

Based on what little I know about MA politics, it appears that she has earned some criticizm from within her own party for her performance leading up to this withdrawal.

Since when is it not common for both sides to self inflict wounds in State primaries? If Republicans eat their young, Democrats wrote the cookbook.