By Azi Paybarah

July 24, 2007 | 9:03 a.m.

So, did anybody else think we’d see the day when Andrew Cuomo would side with Joe Bruno in the course of delivering a rough lesson to Eliot Spitzer on ethics and accountability?

Hank Sheinkopf, the Democratic consultant who worked for Cuomo’s main rival in the Democratic primary, said it was a predictable development, at least for people who understand turf battles in Albany.

“All kinds of forces that have an interest in weakening the governor are joining together, either directly or indirectly, to do so. So, it tells you about the lack of partisanship," Sheinkopf told me. "The partisanship no longer matters. It’s about ambition. Right? Protecting turf. The Republicans in the state Senate and the attorney general essentially have the same agenda right now. Think about it.”

They want to see a weakened governor?

“They both want to see him gone. They want to see him weakened and gone so they can protect their own turf. Think about it. If Spitzer is weakened, what happens to the Democrats' ability to win the senate in 2008? It declines somewhat.”

He added, “If reform is the argument, then Andrew is positioning himself as the reformer while the senate Republicans do their best to weaken the governor’s position as a reformer.”