How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Maria?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!

This showtune from the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The Sound of Music is becoming the Democrat's lament.  If you substitute "Alexandria" for "Maria," it captures their dilemma perfectly.

Ignorant, oblivious, "a clown."  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been a sitting congressman for only a week, and she's already causing the her party enormous headaches.

Politico:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is already making enemies in the House Democratic Caucus – and some of its members are mounting an operation to bring the anti-establishment, democratic socialist with 2.2 million Twitter followers into the fold.

The effort, described by nearly 20 lawmakers and aides, is part carrot, part stick: Some lawmakers with ties to Ocasio-Cortez are hoping to coax her into using her star power to unite Democrats and turn her fire on Republicans.  Others simultaneously warn Ocasio-Cortez is destined for a lonely, ineffectual career in Congress if she continues to treat her own party as the enemy.

That's the problem with extremists; they want to "purify" their party more than they want to get things done. 

"I'm sure Ms. Cortez means well, but there's almost an outstanding rule: Don't attack your own people," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).  "We just don't need sniping in our Democratic Caucus."

Incumbent Democrats are most annoyed by Ocasio-Cortez's threat to back primary opponents against members of their ranks she deems too moderate.  But their frustration goes beyond that: Democratic leaders are upset that she railed against their new set of House rules on Twitter the first week of the new Congress.  Rank and file are peeved that there's a grassroots movement to try to win her a top committee post they feel she doesn't deserve.

Ocasio-Cortez is not opaque in her ambition.  She is transparently grasping for power – at the expense of her fellow socialists.

"She needs to decide: Does she want to be an effective legislator or just continue being a Twitter star?" said one House Democrat who's in lockstep with Ocasio Cortez's ideology.  "There's a difference between being an activist and a lawmaker in Congress."

It's an open question whether Ocasio-Cortez can be checked.  She's barely been in Congress a week and is better known than almost any other House member other than Nancy Pelosi and John Lewis.  A media throng follows her every move, and she can command a national audience practically at will.

None of that came playing by the usual rules: Indeed, Ocasio-Cortez's willingness to take on her party establishment with unconventional guerrilla tactics is what got her here.  It's earned her icon status on the progressive left, it's where the 29-year-old freshman derives her power – and, by every indication, it's how she thinks she can pull the Democratic Party in her direction.

Most establishment Democrats have no illusions about how a far-left presidential candidate like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren will play with voters in 2020.  They will be poison.  "Medicare for All," free college tuition, a "Green New Deal" – these things frighten ordinary Americans.

As well they should.

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

"Moonbeam," indeed.  So most Democrats see Ocasio-Cortez as a threat to themselves and the party.  Unless she can be cut down to size, she will continue to draw support from the rabid left, whose takeover of the party is well underway.  These are the Democrats' shock troops and primary fundraisers.  Whoever wants to win the nomination in 2020 will have to pay homage to their agenda and their heroes. 

It is more than likely that before too long, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be leading them.