Barring revolution, how else can the system be changed if not by people like her trying to do so from the inside, Mark?
Well, the answer is sort of in the question. The short is it can't be changed from inside, as cycle after cycle aptly proves. Its design prevents meaningful change from inside. Or outside, for that matter. By design.
But the real issue isn't politicians at all. It's the electorate. Democracy was always ripe for exploitation because democracy enshrines mediocrity. Once you're past that, and realize people ultimately don't mind being herded and exploited so long as they're getting their little slice of goodness, the rest would seem pretty easy.
Bill Clinton spelled it out beautifully during a Q&A after a speech (post-presidency) when a guy got up and peppered him on a few of his policies. If memory serves it was the globalization stuff. Or maybe it was his numerous anti-regulatory positions. Hold on .. perhaps it was his idea of humanitarian projects, like operation ‘Noble Anvil’ (google that one); or how he instigated the Iraq war, or his ’94 Crime Bill that put more minorities in jail for longer sentences while culpable Wall Street actors not only went unscathed, they flourished. It's one of those. Probably best to ask someone like AOC since she's in the same political party. Anyway ...
His answer was as an epiphany. Clinton got very angry and wagged his finger at the questioner and asked him, “Where were you!” And he repeated it. Where were you when others manipulated my good intentions into something else. Where were you on this and where were you on that. He flipped the entire representative relationship, and as such any responsibility, around and onto an individual voter for asking the obvious questions. But really, Clinton was right. Not on the face value of it -- the angle of "If you’re going to allow your elected representatives to take a mile for every inch then you’re getting what you rightly deserve".
No, because people mostly know what they're getting. It could be a single hot button thing, like race or gender or immigration, sure. But for comfortable people, as most are in the 1st world, it's about maintaining that quality of 1st world life or even its illusion. Because it's a meritocracy, don't you know.
But back to AOC. The system needs lightening rods because people will always get pissed off. The degree to which lightening rods are unaware of their role makes them even more effective. That’s the beauty of it. And they can't ALL grab for the ring. Just ask Lizzie Warren. She toiled for years wagging her finger just like Clinton and just like AOC now. And Drone King Obama. The people's party. The audacity of hope! Yes sir … Pass the Hopium.