Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel: The Internet came from capitalism, not the government

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said of the 2020 election, “It’s going to be a choice. Are we going to want capitalism? Look at all the great achievements of our country: flight, cars, the Internet. Sorry, Al Gore. The Internet. None of that came from government. It came from innovation. It came from the greatness of America.”

So here’s the thing. The Internet very much did come from government, quite literally. The Internet itself derived directly from government work. It began as ARPAnet — named for the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency. In 1972, ARPA became DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.