Bass also risks falling out of favor with the California Teachers Assn., a potential career killer for any Democrat. Some experts say it may be impossible to balance the budget without suspending voter-approved school funding guarantees that the union holds sacred.
"If they have to give in, CTA will be furious, and fingers are going to point very quickly," said Larry Gerston, a San Jose State political scientist. "To the extent the Democrats need someone to blame when they sit in the ruins, the logical thing is to blame the speaker."
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eric.bailey@latimes.com
Times staff writer Evan Halper contributed to this report.
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
The Assembly speaker
* Name: Karen Bass
* Political party: Democrat
* Born: Oct. 3, 1953, Los Angeles
* Residence: Baldwin Vista
* Personal: Divorced from Jesus Lechuga. Only child, Emilia, killed in 2006 car crash at the age of 23
* Education: Bachelor's degree, Cal State Dominguez Hills. Physician assistant certificate, USC School of Medicine
* Career highlights: Teacher, USC physician assistant program; founder, nonprofit Community Coalition; elected to Assembly 2004; named majority leader 2006; elected speaker in 2008
* Issues: Foster care, small business
* Quote: "He broke it. He should fix it," referring to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's rejection of recent Democratic budget proposals.
Source: Times reporting
