I watched that and did not see a vicious attack as you are describing.
It just feels very personal. It’s not rational
Newt is staying in the race because he’s our only viable option. Definitely not Santorum..
You may not have noticed, but the number of drama queens increases on this site (and probably others) as nomination times start and election time nears. People "see and hear" what they want to see and hear. IMO, Brit is much more a consistent friend to conservatism than Newt - mostly because it's not all about his ego.