Amid the launch of a new campaign to encourage greater scrutiny of the right-wing “American Crossroads” groups known to many as the “shadow RNC,” an activist organization declared that it would give $100,000 to any person who comes forward with “information leading to the arrest and conviction of Karl Rove.”

The campaign is being conducted by American Crossroads Watch, an offshoot of Velvet Revolution, which promotes issues key to many progressives activists and represents the political will of dozens of organizations and unions nation-wide.

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Their newly launched Web site declares:

Karl Rove created American Crossroads to continue his 40-year history of unfairly manipulating elections on behalf of oligarchs. He joined with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a cabal of corporate barons, and other CEOs that want Big Business to control our elections and our government. Rove’s group plans to amass more than $50 million from companies making secret donations, and spend that money to influence elections and buy candidates who will act on behalf of those companies and their deregulatory policies. These same polices brought us Enron, the collapse of Wall Street banks, Bernie Madoff, Jack Abramoff, the Gulf oil spill, the recent coal mining disasters, and the corporate controlled Supreme Court. We are fighting back on behalf of the 87 percent of Americans who do not want corporations to buy politicians and control our government.

Crossroads Watch specifically refers to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which allowed 527 groups to accept unlimited donations from any source. They and many progressives charge that removing the caps on how much money the wealthy can dump into election advertising has the potential to undermine America’s democracy.

In a request for an advisory opinion [PDF link] filed with the Federal Election Commission, an attorney for Protect Our Elections cites reporting by RAW STORY, Rolling Stone and The Huffington Post to build a case alleging that Rove and his groups have effectively replaced the official RNC, hence they should be subject to the same rules and not be allowed unlimited donations. A second request [PDF link], filed with the Department of Justice, urges the protection of the 2010 elections from wealthy individuals and groups who seek to win “by hook or crook.”

They further insist that the DOJ “[launch] a specific criminal investigation into American Crossroads/American Crossroads GPS for its coup d’etat of the RNC for the purpose of controlling the United States Government.”

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Naturally, the offer of a reward for Rove’s arrest and conviction was issued by way of an online wanted poster.

In trying to warn candidates away from accepting the support of Rove’s group, American Crossroads Watch also launched an Internet ad targeting former executive Carly Fiorina, now a California Republican Party nominee to the U.S. Senate. A list of “targets” was posted on the Crossroads Watch Web site and supporters were urged to contact the candidates and emphasize their opposition to Rove’s “laundered” money and “dirty tricks”.

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A sister organization, U.S. Chamber Watch, last week filed an I.R.S. complaint against the Chamber of Commerce, alleging the conservative, big-business lobby laundered millions of dollars from a group closely tied to embattled insurer A.I.G.

This video was published to YouTube on Sept. 9, 2010.