. However, saying that on a fundamental level they are somehow different from Republicans is extremely far-fetched and naive to me.
It's a very common idea, but if you look at voting patterns of rep vs dems, there is a very clear difference. Dem party has shitload of problems, but it's miles better than republicans. Obamacare was very flawed, but it was step into right direction, uninsusured people went from 44.3 to 28.2 mil. After trumps changes - it is projected to grow 24% by 2029. Iran deal was AMAZING, it's insane that they managed to negotiate it so favorably, it has decreased world conflict and obviously, trump fucks it up. In terms of abortion rights - republicans and especially trump is pandering to fundamentalist evangelicals (he has 75% approval rating from then), in roe vs wade overturn there is very clear distinction. In terms of ICE there is clear differencde, gun control etc etc.
No. They are not the same.