Federal Reserve Board Independence of What?

The NYT article discussing Republican efforts to limit the Fed's power to boost the economy presented an overly narrow view of the issue of the Fed's independence. It contrasted efforts by Democrats to make the Fed more accountable to the president and the Congress, with Republican efforts to make the regional Feds stronger by giving the banks more control. The latter was described as increasing Fed independence.

In fact, the Republican path would make the Fed more dependent on the financial...