In an interview with Playboy magazine, Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank said he's never going on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News show again. "He had no interest in a discussion," said the congressman. "If you don't go on, he says those things unrefuted, but I wouldn't do it again."

The episode Frank was venting about aired in 2008 at the peak of the financial crisis. Frank, as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, had been taking heat for saying Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in good condition and "not endangering the fiscal health of the country." O'Reilly invited him on for a harrowing four-minute shoutfest calling him a "coward" with Frank hitting back, telling O'Reilly his "stupidity gets in the way of rational discussion."

In today's interview, Frank says "politics has gotten meaner. Polarization isn't good. It divides us and we don’t come together, which means we can't effectively solve problems." Interestingly, Frank did return to the Factor in 2009 for a resigned, albeit combative, exchange. Apparently that was the last straw. In any event, if it makes O'Reilly feel better, Frank also said he'd never do another taped episode of The Colbert Report because he "did not appreciate the humor" of Colbert (who happens to be the satirical version of O'Reilly).

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John Hudson