Janet Yellen Belonged to NARAL, Planned Parenthood

Janet Yellen, if confirmed, will be the first female chair of the Fed in American history. (The history of the Fed only goes back through less than half of that, but, still! Impressive!) This fact thrilled Democrats and progressives who wanted to block Larry Summers from the job; it is a little tiring to my colleague Hanna Rosin. But if said progressives were hoping to find a kindred spirit, they succeeded better than they knew. In 1994, when Yellen was nominated to be a member of the Fed Board of Governors, she had to turn over supplemental information on her finances, associations—the works. Here, on Page 42 of the disclosure/hearing transcript, are the organization memberships she declared. Not just NARAL, not just Planned Parenthood, but California’s NARAL affiliate and an anti-nukes organization! (Joining that in 1989, as the arms race ended, does come off a little strange.)