Chris Hayes from MSNBC is one of the biggest proponents of the idea that attention (not money, especially at the federal and statewide level) is the new economy in politics. Trump understands this, and it's arguably one of the reasons they won this past election.
In my personal life, I don't like attention, nor do I like attention seekers. But whatever of you think of AOC, we now live in a world where a large population of Americans don't pay attention to the news and actively avoid politics. You need dramatic examples to reach those people, because those are the voters who will end up deciding elections (especially non mid-term elections).
AOC is one of the best, if not THE best attention getter(s), in the Democratic Party right now. Democrats will continue to lose elections if they do not push to the forefront (especially to leadership positions) members who are better at getting attention, and who can communicate effectively in this new media ecosystem.