President Obama to kick off fiscal cliff tour Friday in Montgomery Co.

PITTSBURGH — President Barack Obama will begin a different type of campaigning this week in Pennsylvania in an effort to pressure congressional Republicans to work with the White House on a strategy to avoid the pending fiscal cliff.

The president will kick off a fiscal cliff tour on Friday in Hatfield, Montgomery County to make his case for tax increases on the wealthy while extending tax cuts for families earning $250,000 or less.

He will tour The Rodon Group manufacturing plant — which employees 150 people — using the Pennsylvania business as an example of a company that depends on middle-class consumers during the holiday season. The company makes parts for K’NEX Brands, a construction toy company whose products include Tinkertoy and Angry Birds Building Sets.

Josh Shapiro, a Montgomery County Democrat and commissioner, said he is proud that the president has chosen to visit his county at a critical time during fiscal cliff negotiations.

“I look forward to welcoming him on Friday and showing off one of our premier businesses in the county,” Shapiro said.

Sen. Pat Toomey, a Lehigh Valley Republican, told the Trib last week that he is against Obama’s proposal to increase taxes on the wealthy and is looking forward to hearing what the president has to offer to avoid the “fiscal disaster.”

This will be the president’s first public trip outside the nation’s capital since winning re-election.

This article was written by Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE.

WPXI