evidence: Ocasio-Cortez represents one vision of the Democratic Party’s future. She’s a young Hispanic woman, three cornerstones of the party’s electoral coalition. She’s a democratic socialist at a time when confidence in capitalism is declining, especially among progressive millennials. The issues she ran on—a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, a federal jobs guarantee, abolishing ICE—are animating a new generation of Democrats. She’s a political phenomenon: part activist, part legislator, arguably the best storyteller in the party since Barack Obama and perhaps the only Democrat right now with the star power to challenge President Donald Trump’s. [...] The reception in Washington hasn’t been quite as warm. Ocasio-Cortez is among the most visible of a group of young, left-wing freshman Democrats—-including Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan—who have sparked controversy for their views on everything from impeachment to Israel. Some fellow first-term Democrats welcome the spotlight she brings. "We have this really dynamic rock star who is getting a lot of attention," says Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan, a co-president of the freshman class. "Why is that a bad thing?" In person, Democratic sources say, Ocasio-Cortez is friendly and respectful, nothing like the firebrand who spars with -critics online. "She’s quiet as a mouse" in caucus meetings, says one congressional source.