Fox News host Bill O'Reilly said he felt as if were traveling through another dimension after being challenged by guests on both side of the political aisle on Tuesday after he advocated the use of Social Security cards as a form of federal identification for voters.
"You're way out there on this one," O'Reilly told conservative contributor Monica Crowley. "Number one, everybody's already got the card. You're just putting your picture on it. There's not some bogeyman gonna come in the night and track your movement to 7-Eleven. It's not gonna happen."
"You're saying using it as a voter identification," Crowley shot back. "And I'm saying that states control their own voting rolls and that's the way it should be. The federal government should not be riding this."
"I just want to solve the problem here, and that's the way to solve it," a visibly frustrated O'Reilly replied.
On the other hand, O'Reilly was also challenged by Alan Colmes, a liberal, after O'Reilly said he would also make the voters responsible for the cost of putting their pictures on their Social Security cards.
O'Reilly said the process would cost "10 cents" per card, but the Los Angeles Times reported that the Social Security Administration estimated 20 years ago that the cost would be at least $15 per card, given that such a process would involve installing equipment capable of producing new Social Security photo identifications, along with authenticating and processing them and training the necessary personnel to do so.
"You want to charge the voters," Colmes told O'Reilly. "That's a bad idea."
"It's a bad idea," O'Reilly repeated mockingly. "'Cause the poor can't afford 10 cents, right?"
"You're charging people to vote," Colmes responded, causing O'Reilly to slap both hands on his desk in disbelief. "Terrible idea."
"When you go to the poll, you put gas in your car to drive there," O'Reilly told Colmes.
"That's not the government telling you," Colmes responded. "I walk to my poll. The government can't be charging people to vote."
"I think I'm in The Twilight Zone," O'Reilly complained, covering his face with his hand.
Watch the discussion, as posted online on Tuesday, below.
