After use of a swear word last week to describe President Donald Trump—who she believes should be the target of impeachment proceedings in the U.S. House of Representatives—sparked an avalanche of headlines and thought pieces, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) argued on Sunday that she believes the Democratic Party can and should hold the president to account for possible high crimes and misdemeanors while also pursuing a far-reaching policy agenda that would dramatically improve the lives of all Americans.

"I know I'm willing to do the work to fight on these multiple fronts, and it's what the people who voted for us in 2018 elected us to do.

"We can do both," Tlaib declared in an email send to progressive supporters as she described herself as "a bold progressive who is committed pushing bold ideas like Medicare For All and a Green New Deal in our new Congress...AND starting the impeachment conversation" around the president.

"And we must do both because we cannot normalize this President's actions," she continued. "As we fight his backward policies, history is depending on us to right this ship and foster accountability for rampant law breaking and attacks on democratic norms." According to Tlaib:

This is not just about Donald Trump. This is about all of us. What should we be as a nation? Who should we be as a people? In the face of this constitutional crisis, we must rise. We must rise to defend our Constitution, to defend our democracy, and to defend that bedrock principle that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States. Each passing day brings more pain for the people most directly hurt by this president, and these are days we simply cannot get back. The time for the impeachment conversation to begin is now. And while we do that, we must fight to re-open the government and then push bold ideas like Medicare For All, a Green New Deal, and infrastructure investments that help all communities—including those like Detroit and Flint, Michigan. I know I'm willing to do the work to fight on these multiple fronts, and it's what the people who voted for us in 2018 elected us to do.

On Friday, Tlaib sparked a debate about congressional decorum when she told a room full of people that it was her mission to "impeach the motherfucker," referring to Trump. Of course, the hand-wringing over the comments—denounced by Republicans, not a few Democrats, and even Trump himself—were described as pretty rich coming from veteran politicians that have embraced such language behind the scenes (and in public) for years, especially when Trump himself has so lowered the standard of so-called "civility" since taking office.

I’m apalled Rashida Tlaib said “motherfucker.” SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Never Miss a Beat. Get our best delivered to your inbox.





She should’ve said “grab them by the pussy.” Or perhaps “moved on her like a bitch.” You know—civil language befitting the solemnity of the office. — Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) January 4, 2019 I know there'll be a lot of clucking today about Rep. Tlaib and "impeach the motherf**ker" but my supportive feeling is based on this. I'm student/fan of the '60s because radical times call for saying radical things. We again are in such a moment. Let's start treating it that way — Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) January 4, 2019

Of course Tlaib was perfectly capable of defending herself. And she did: