Ideologically, you can argue that there is a big difference or not a dimes worth of difference between the two. In my view, they both stink. One party is for big business and the other is for trial lawyers. Both get their money from insurance companies, which makes them equally odious on that front. They both want to take away basic civil liberties. They both have supported sovereingty destroying treaties. Democrats support crap like the Law of the Sea treaty and Anti-Ballistic missile treaties. Republicans support managed trade agreements that are killing our industrial base (what's left of it).
There is a difference, however. When you contact a Republican congressman or senator, you are usually able to get right through and they won't ask for your zip code to make sure that you are from that state. That is important because what these shysters introduce affects ALL of us. On the other hand, the stinky, larsenous, perverted shyster, vermin worm democrats make sure that you are from their @#$R district before you contact them. Who in the hell do they think they are???? Of course, I have found a way around that through the email system.
Contact me with a personal message and I will show you how.
I used this trick to contact the idiot congresswoman who is introducing a 60/65 mph national speed limit. For more information, read this article
http://origin.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_9840819