Sentence:  <WSD>Buffeted</WSD> by criticism of his policy on Europe, battered by rebellion in the ranks over his bill to legalize same-sex marriage and wounded by the perception that he is supercilious, contemptuous and out of touch with mainstream Conservatism, Mr. Cameron earlier this week took the highly unusual step of sending a mass e-mail (or, as he called it, “a personal note”) to his party's grass-roots members. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  to aggressively challenge, denounce, or criticise.