CBS's Steve Kroft to Be Honored for 'Social Justice' With Obama Labor Secretary Tonight

When an “objective” journalist joins an Obama cabinet secretary to receive honors from a "consumer group," does that make them look liberal? CBS correspondent Steve Kroft, now promoted as the top dog on 60 Minutes, will receive an award from the National Consumers League tonight for his devotion to “social justice and the rights of consumers.” From the NCL press release:

The National Consumers League will honor United States Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and award-winning journalist Steve Kroft with its highest honor, the Trumpeter Award, tonight on Capitol Hill. The Trumpeter Awards Dinner and Reception will bring together a diverse group of representatives of labor unions, advocates, legislators, organizations, and industries touched by the two advocates' esteemed careers. The advocacy organization, which honored Senator Edward Kennedy with its first Trumpeter award in 1973, has recognized leaders who are not afraid to speak out for social justice and for the rights of consumers and workers for more than 30 years.

The Trumpeter Award is NCL's highest honor, given to leaders who are not afraid to speak out for social justice and for the rights of consumers. No one fits that description better than Hilda Solis and Steve Kroft," said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. "Solis' dedication to improving the quality of life for workers in the United States, and Kroft's dedication to consumer-minded investigative journalism have earned them this year's Trumpeter Award."

Kroft will speak at the awards dinner at the Hyatt Regency hotel on Capitol Hill, as will Washington Post financial columnist Michelle Singletary. The other press releases on the NCL website underline their worldview:

NCL Mourns Loss of ‘Hero and Champion’ Senator Ted Kennedy

National Consumers League Supports Confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, Urges Senators to Support Her Nomination

Last year's winners of the Trumpeter award were Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (Democrat) and socialist author (and former Time magazine columnist) Barbara Ehrenreich.

Ehrenreich is perhaps best remembered by conservatives for her flowery praise for a new edition of the Communist Manifesto in 1998 on Salon.com:

"The Communist Manifesto is well worth the $12 that Verso is asking. Despite the hype, its message is a timeless one that bears repeating every century or so: The meek shall triumph and the mighty shall fall; the hungry and exhausted will get restless and someday — someday! — rise up against their oppressors. The prophet Isaiah said something like this, and so, a little more recently, did Jesus."