President Barack Obama addressed for the first time a Republican-controlled Congress. At the State of the Union Address on Tuesday, he vowed to continue his Democratic principles, including taxing the wealthy to help the middle class. He threatened to veto Republican plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act — Obama’s signature achievement.

“We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got a system to fix,” Obama said during his address. “And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it.”

Obama will serve out the remaining two years of his presidency as a lame duck, protecting what he was able to accomplish when Congress was a lot more blue.

The main point of Obama’s economic proposal will be an uphill battle for the GOP-controlled Congress, asking to increase the capital gains rate on couples making more than $500,000 annually to 28 percent. His plan would also instruct estates to pay capital gains taxes on securities once inherited and put a fee on the 100 U.S. financial firms with assets above $50 billion.

He said this would generate $320 billion and would go directly toward the middle class. In addition, he calls for a $500 tax credit for families with two spouses employed. He also recommends expanding the child care tax credit and a $60 billion program to make community college free.

“So the verdict is clear. Middle-class economics works,” Obama said. “Expanding opportunity works. And these policies will continue to work, as long as politics don’t get in the way.”

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst was quick to go against the president’s proposals.

“We see our neighbors agonize over stagnant wages and lost jobs. We see the hurt caused by canceled health care plans and higher monthly insurance bills,” Ernst said in the Republican response. “But when we demanded solutions, too often Washington responded with the same stale mindset that led to failed policies like Obamacare. It’s a mindset that gave us political talking points, not serious solutions.”

These back-and-forth antics are what we can expect until Washington is shaken up for another term.

Obama’s vision and Congress will continue to clash over the next few years, paving the way for a heated presidential election in 2016. Bipartisanship will be key in the coming months as freshmen congressman find their footing in their first term. In order to make legislation stick, a more moderate strategy will need to come from Obama and Congress.

President Barack Obama speaks about the economy at the Los Angeles Trade-Technical College on Thursday

STF