The party's soul is Jim Crow, welfare statism, and class envy. Why would they want to "regain" those things?
Ideals? Rubbish! Philadelphia Democrats could not care less about ideals. The only problem they have with pay-to-play is that a few guys got caught and messed it up for everyone else. As long as Philly keeps delivering 80% of the vote to the Democrat candidates, they don't care if the city goes straight to hell. Why do you think Ed Rendell got the hell out of Dodge and ran for Governor? Even he could not tolerate the cesspool that is Philadelphia.
These pie-in-the-sky liberals are so amusing. Philly is not going to be cleaned up until Democrats are out of power and a guy like Bret Schundler comes in with the industrial strength antiseptics.