June 11, 2012 08:51 PM UTC

Conservative radio hosts join Gardner in denouncing Metro's tuition decision

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• by: Jason Salzman

Conservative talk radio hosts don’t have too many kind words for Metropolitan State College these days, after Metro’s decision last week to offer a reduced tuition rate to undocumented students.

Everyone knows this issue potentially alienates Hispanic voters in a swing state where Hispanics could decide the election.

Still, the conservatives on the radio, many of whom define themselves as partisan Republicans, are attacking Metro with abandon.

For example, KNUS’ Steve Kelley, who denounced Metro, had Rep. Cory Gardner on his morning show Friday, and he put the question to him. Gardner replied:

Gardner: I read that in the paper this morning, and of course I oppose in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. I think it’s the wrong policy. It sends the wrong kind of message to people who are in the country illegally. And I think we got to work on border security before anything else. And I think Metro State has it backwards.

KNUS’ Kelley was open-minded about the issue compared to Devon Lentz on KFKA’s “AM Colorado” June 5.

Lentz is a KFKA host and the temporary chair of the Larimer County Republican Party.

She went beyond Metro, stating that Hispanic grade-school kids shouldn’t be allowed in public schools:

LENTZ:  Are their parents being kicked out of this country yet?  And besides the fact that my taxpayer dollars are educating them in the public schools, that their parents are not paying into the school system.  Not okay with this one.  Oh, so many levels…

I think I’m missing something here.  Why are we continuing to reward illegals in America?  Why?  That’s what we are doing. We are continuing to reward them.  So, yeah, I get the whole ‘they’re innocents, they’re minors’, they got their education.  I don’t care if they’ve been here for 3 years and graduated from high school, or if they’ve been here 10 years.  They’re on my dime in the school system.  Their parents are not paying in.  I’m not looking  to backhand minors that didn’t have a choice in this country,  but at what point does even the schools system learn that this 6^th grader coming in and their parents are here illegally.  Why are they being allowed in the school system to begin with?

Both Kelley and Lentz were mixed up on the facts related to this issue, and I’ll get to the fact-checking in a future post, but clearly the conservative talk radio world isn’t holding back.

You have to wonder whether Rep. Mike Coffman admires their passion.