Just four years after launching in San Francisco, Uber has propagated across the world and could be worth as much as $40 billion. Part of that success — and what Uber makes headlines for — comes from its ruthless playbook to frustrate the competition and to invade any market it wants, even if it's facing a government-protected taxi monopoly. Less glamorous but no less important: Uber appears to be completely dominating local politicians who get in its way.

A report from The Washington Post sheds some light on the scope of Uber's political advocacy wing. According to the Post, local lobbying registration records indicate the company hired private lobbyists in at least 50 US cities and states and has hired at least 161 people to lobby for its interests. In Sacramento alone, Uber spent $475,000 over five months to influence California lawmakers, the Post reports.

Uber shut down one state regulator within 48 hours

In many cases, Uber used common political advocacy tactics to generate public support for its business. The company has sent out notices to its users in markets where regulation threatens its operation, asking them to contact local politicians. In one instance in June, The Washington Post reports, Uber was able to provoke hundreds of people in Virginia to complain to the Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner responsible for shutting its business down. Then, it sent its team of lobbyists to meet with aides of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. Within 48 hours, the Post reports, Virginia's transportation secretary told the DMV to leave Uber drivers alone — meaning the company was successfully able to leapfrog regulators.

So far, that influence has attracted some bipartisan interest from Democratic and Republican politicians, including the chairman of the Republican National Committee, and President Obama's former campaign manager David Plouffe who now leads Uber's political arm. As the Post reports, Uber, like other highly profitable public utilities, has been courting both major parties; the Post says the company has rapidly hired a team of former gubernatorial aides, former state legislators, and other political elites.

Uber's attention for its explosive success has been matched by criticism of its aggressive and often off-putting startup culture. In November, Uber executive Emil Michael was caught at a dinner meeting casually threatening a journalist with a smear campaign. In response, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick insisted that Michael's comments represented "a departure from our values and ideals," and said that the company "should tell the stories of progress and appeal to people's hearts and minds."

In the meantime, Kalanick's political captain is responsible for reconciling Uber's stories of progress with the company's dubious image. "We have to correct it," Plouffe told the Post. "Part of this is just when you're maturing and growing, you're going to make mistakes." Those mistakes may have cost Uber some respect, but they haven't appeared to slow its political conquest.