Former New York City mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani praised Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s stance on health care and states’ rights in an Internet video released by Otter’s re-election campaign Monday.  Giuliani was in Boise last week and spoke at a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser for Otter.  The governor missed that meeting due to his hospitalization for the flu, but the video includes clips from Otter’s other campaign stops, as well as the Tea Party event in Boise.  Otter attended a rally in Spokane, but not the Boise rally.

“I think Gov. Otter has acted very boldly and very courageously in moving against this health care takeover by the federal government,” Giuliani said in the video.  He also was critical of what he called federal takeovers of General Motors and financial institutions.  “They want to take over just about everything else that you can think of that used to be the domain of the states.”

“There are still a lot of battles to be won against the constant encroachment on states’ rights,” Otter said in the video.

Giuliani also had praise for Idaho, calling it a wonderful state.  “Those of us around the country think of Idaho as a place that still has a lot of open land, a lot of freedom, and people can still make choices for themselves,” he said in the campaign video.  “I really think that Gov. Otter is exactly the right kind of governor because he will stand up for the state.”

The campaign video is several minutes long, and unlikely to air on TV stations.  Watch the entire video at Otter’s campaign website.

Otter and one of his Democratic challengers, Keith Allred, will both hold open houses for their Boise campaign offices on Wednesday.  Otter will also celebrate his birthday at his open house.  He turns 68 on May 3.