Elected on a pledge to deny Beltway lobbyists the undue influence they have previously been afforded, President Barack Obama’s inaugural year in office is on pace to be the most lucrative yet for influential K Street lobbyists.

According to figures collected by Politico, Washington’s influence peddlers will likely shatter last year’s record of $3.3 billion spent on lobbying Congress and the White House.

President Obama’s record is one of soaring rhetoric but compromised values. When push comes to shove, shove had better be prepared to contribute significant sums of money.

Early in his administration, Obama was forced to develop a mechanism to allow exceptions for “uniquely qualified individuals” under his “no lobbyists” dicta which qualified roughly 11 percent of President Obama’s senior staff–who were federally registered lobbyists in the last 5 years–to serve. And now, nearly one year and $3 billion later, Obama will again answer for his sheer ambivalence to allowing lobbyists the opportunity to run Washington.

“It is the most active time that I have ever seen in the advocacy business — from 1973 on,” James Thurber, director of American University’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, said of Washington’s influence industry in the Obama era of shallow transparency.

President Obama’s commitment to any issue is directly proportional to the amount with which lobbyists can pad his campaign coffers. And what’s worse, Democratic members of Congress are following Obama’s example.

According to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics’ website OpenSecrets.org, the health care sector has to-date awarded Democrats over $9 million in campaign contributions, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid taking the lion’s share.

Why, after hedging on a variety of Democratic campaign staples including Iraq, the public option and LGBT equality, would Obama hold firm on his promise to deny special-interest brokers a seat at the table?

Influence means money, and money in politics virtually ensures reelection.

Cross-posted to RedState.com.