Key her in as a friendly on IFF.
I don't think she's "ours" per se, but she's spry.
They are trying to generate control over her. She's young and not as experienced - so they think. Think about what is coming. They need party line votes. Cortez will break from the party line.
Read or listen to what she actually says. She's very sharp in a sublime way and I would be willing to bet she ran as a democrat largely because you are retarded to run as a republican in California, or anything else. Virtue is nice - but you don't get into the gladiatorial arena of politics on virtue. You play the cards you have to get where you need to go.
The black mail is simple: "this pressure about being retarded in the media, your history in school, and that porn model who could be mistaken for you… All goes away when you 'do what is right for the party.'" or - more like "the party can protect you from errors of your past."
Call me crazy, naive, or a sucker for weminz - but if push comes to shove against the media - I have her back. That may be "their plan" - but I seriously doubt they thought that far ahead. They were counting on a "blue wave" that never materialized and are having to leverage what seats they have in the only way they know how.