Our goal is to gather more than 200,000 signatures, and then we will start delivering these to targeted House Republicans.

Just like filibuster reform in the U.S. Senate, a "discharge petition" in the House is about fighting the tyranny of a right-wing minority that can obstruct the will of the people and make elections irrelevant through obscure parliamentary moves.

Seventy percent of Americans disapprove of how the Republicans have shut down the federal government. If it wasn’t for gerrymandered districts, Nancy Pelosi would be Speaker today. The only thing that’s keeping the government shut down is a loud and obnoxious right wing that has taken John Boehner hostage. This is the Tea Party’s last line of defense.

As the Washington Post reported on Friday, 24 House Republicans have either explicitly said they would vote to pass a clean funding bill if it came to the floor or are leaning in that direction.

An additional nine House Republicans represent districts that picked Obama over Mitt Romney last November, and whose constituents oppose this shutdown—giving us 33 possible targets, probably more. All we need are 18 to cross Speaker Boehner and sign a discharge petition.

So far, House Republicans want it both ways. New York’s Peter King claims that a discharge petition "isn’t going anywhere," while he says he supports a clean funding bill. Meanwhile he offers no solution whatsoever on how to accomplish that.

California’s Devin Nunes, who earlier derided the Ted Cruz strategy as "suicide lemmings," now says he’s voting with the GOP leadership—with no coherent explanation.

These House members have the power to stop the shutdown, but until they sign the discharge petition, they are part of the problem and they deserve just as much blame as the Tea Party.

We all know what’s at stake here. Cancer patients are not getting treated, Head Start classes are turning away kids and Capitol police are working without pay.

Just 18 House Republicans can change course, buck a tyranny of the minority and end this destructive shutdown. Will you add your name to put pressure on them?