She’s not “scripted.” More like she’s coached or briefed or prepped or advised or counseled or prompted to stress certain points. And I doubt she’s a wholly passive partner in the proceedings. There would have to be some give and take between her and her handlers, and by now they probably know that she’s going to cut loose and not be confined to any narrow set of guidelines, notes or talking points. She’s different from most freshmen in Congress because she grabs the cameras, but she may not be any more dependent on her staff than the rest of them are.
What sets AOC apart from the others is that she's so young, and her House gig is her first foray into politics. This makes a lot of the elements of her questionable background much more transparent than they would otherwise be.
She graduated from Boston University with a degree in international relations and a minor in economics, but at the age of 28 she apparently had nothing to show for it but a pile of college debt and a job as a bartender. And this was at a time when the U.S. unemployment rate was at or near its lowest point in history, mind you.
Until she gets into the big under the table payoffs, she’ll have to stay within the script or she’ll lose her shoe allowance and the handlers are the ones getting her those 2 dozen headlines a day.