The Note: Here's Bobby: Jindal Takes The Plunge
— -- By MICHAEL FALCONE
NOTABLES
--BOBBY JINDAL JUMPS IN: The Louisiana governor will become the 13th major Republican presidential candidate this evening in an announcement at the Ponchartrain Center in Kenner, Louisiana. Jindal heads straight from his home state to New Hampshire where he is scheduled to speak at a "Politics and Eggs" breakfast in Manchester. According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune: "This decision has been months -- if not years -- in the making. Jindal has been traveling outside the state to early presidential primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina more frequently. Last month, Jindal announced he had formed a presidential exploratory committee, an all-but-sure sign that he is running in 2016. Jindal's gubernatorial staff has begun moving over to his campaign operations. The governor chief-of-staff Kyle Plotkin resigned abruptly from state government last Friday to work for the presidential campaign." http://bit.ly/1BMfnm4
--JINDAL RELEASED A FACEBOOK VIDEO this morning ahead of his announcement featuring GoPro video of a family discussion in his backyard: "My kids had some questions about today's big announcement,"Jindal wrote in a message. "We will be releasing more video from the conversation later today." WATCH: http://on.fb.me/1He06fW
--ANALYSIS -- ABC's RICK KLEIN: It might register as a significant development, if we hadn't seen this movie before, again and again. Sen. Joe Manchin and Sen. Pat Toomey told The Washington Post that they're looking to renew their famous push for gun legislation; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says he would like to see another vote, too. They won't get that vote, or any other substantive vote on gun control, any time in the foreseeable future. The political energy in Charleston's wake is focused on flags and license plates. Even if it wasn't, the tragedy wouldn't have shaken the political environment on guns. The disappointment registers regularly on President Obama's face. But even he realizes the best he can hope for is for a gun debate "at some point." That point isn't now, and isn't soon.
--HAPPENING TODAY -- WALKER TO SIGN GUN BILLS: Just a week after the Charleston church shooting, Scott Walker will sign into law today two bills that make it easier to buy and carry guns in Wisconsin, ABC's JORDYN PHELPS. One bill eliminates a 48-hour waiting period for buying firearms and the other allows off-duty police officers to carry concealed guns on and near school campus grounds. The governor's spokesperson, Laurel Patrick, told ABC News the bill signing has been long-planned with law enforcement and was announced by the Milwaukee County Sheriff on June 11.
FIVE THIRTY EIGHT IN THE NOTE -- BOBBY JINDAL SHOULD HAVE RUN IN 2012, NOT 2016. From FiveThirtyEight's HARRY ENTEN: "Imagine a young Republican governor of a Southern state is thinking about running for president. He's wildly popular at home -- on his way to winning re-election with 66 percent of the vote. He's Indian-American in a party that desperately wants to reach out to nonwhite voters. He's got rock-solid conservative credentials, and he would be entering a historically weak primary field. But he doesn't pull the trigger. Four years later, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is unpopular in his home state. Jindal plans to officially enter the Republican primary today, but this year, he hasn't polled higher than 2 percent nationally, 2 percent in any Iowa caucus survey or 3 percent in any New Hampshire primary poll. In other words, Jindal missed his best chance to run for president. He's weaker than he was in 2012, and the field is stronger." http://53eig.ht/1LBpJFi
TODAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC's CHRIS GOOD: Mike Huckabee will be in Iowa, where he'll hold a "Main Street American Family Dinner" at Nana Greer's Family Table Restaurant at 6:30 pm ET. George Pataki will be in New Hampshire, where he'll attend a noon picnic at Great Island Common in New Castle, visit Robie's County Store in Hooksett and attend a reception with two state lawmakers at Cheers in Concord at 3:30 pm and a meeting at The Mug in Center Harbor at 6 pm ET. John Kasich will be in Iowa, where he'll hold a press availability before a luncheon at the Iowa State Historic Building in Des Moines at 12:15 pm ET, visit the Bull Moose Club of Des Moines at 2 pm ET, hold another press availability before touring Iowa Western Community College at 6 pm ET, and attend a meet & greet at the student center at 6:30 pm ET.
THE BUZZ
WHITE HOUSE WILL NO LONGER STOP FAMILIES OF AMERICAN HOSTAGES FROM PAYING RANSOMS. The White House is set to release the results of its hostage policy review, which will make clear the U.S. will not stop American families who are willing to negotiate with or pay ransoms to terror groups holding their loved ones hostage. The administration will create a new office that will work with the American families of hostage victims, but will not change the law regarding the U.S. ransom policies, according to ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ, JORDYN PHELPS and JAMES GORDON MEEK. A senior official said the hostage interagency fusion cell will be physically housed at FBI headquarters and initially will be run by a senior FBI official. Officials from other agencies and departments may rotate in to run the program in the future. President Obama is set to meet today with the families of hostages held overseas and make a statement on the review. http://abcn.ws/1RtiCQI
LEADERS CONTENT TO LEAVE CONFEDERATE STATUES IN US CAPITOL DESPITE FLAG UPROAR. Despite a growing chorus of calls to remove the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina Capitol and the Mississippi flag, nearly a dozen statues of Confederate leaders and those associated with the movement are still standing in the U.S. Capitol building. And several Southern lawmakers say they're content to keep it that way --- at least for now, ABC's BEN SIEGEL and ALI WEINBERG report. Eleven of the 100 statues of "notable citizens" sent to Washington from all 50 states are figures associated with the Confederacy, including both from South Carolina, which depict John Calhoun, a vocal antebellum defender of slavery, and Wade Hampton, a Confederate Cavalry officer with ties to postwar white supremacists. Other states with statues of figures associated with the Confederacy include North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia and Alabama. http://abcn.ws/1Gp4vXB
--SOUTH CAROLINA'S SENATORS, WHO BOTH SUPPORT THE FLAG'S REMOVAL, said focus should remain on the flag and the families of the Charleston shooting victims. "I'm trying to deal with the flag and nothing else," Sen. Lindsey Graham said when asked about the statues. "That's what I'm going to be focused on." His colleague in the senate, Tim Scott, said: "I'm not going to make a push to move them...The focus should be on the families." http://abcn.ws/1Gp4vXB
HOW THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN IS TESTING THE MARCO RUBIO-JEB BUSH FRIENDSHIP. Now that they've both announced they are running for president, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio have officially turned a 15-year friendship into a rivalry. Bush, the former Florida governor, and Rubio, the junior U.S. senator from the Sunshine State, share a number of similarities besides both being interested in moving into the White House. They both got their start in Florida politics. They own homes in Florida less than three miles away from one another. But they have their differences, too. Bush, 62, is 18 years older than Rubio, 44. One is a self-made man who comes from humble beginnings, the other is from a well-known political dynasty that boasts two previous presidents. Their friendship will surely be tested by the rigors of the presidential election, and here's a look back at the two Florida politicians' history together, courtesy of ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI: http://abcn.ws/1dfAhOg
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
THE PRESIDENT IN YOUR GARAGE: OBAMA'S OFF-BEAT COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY. He may be a lame duck, but President Obama just might be aiming to be the coolest commander-in-chief ever. And sometimes that entails hanging out in some dude's garage. President Obama sat down amid the clutter of cardboard boxes and old posters to guest star on a podcast indelicately titled, "WTF With Marc Maron," taped in the host's garage in California, ABC's ERIN DOOLEY reports. Turns out, the president doesn't need a podium bearing the presidential seal to make major news. As he enters the final two years of his presidency, Obama is using some offbeat strategies to get attention. He has sat down with some less-than-professional interviewers: the host of a show named for its proximity to plants, the editor of a publication best known for "listicles," even a girl known to slurp cereal from a bathtub. http://abcn.ws/1Ru9ED4
WHO'S TWEETING?
@petridishes: every state flag is wrong and here is why (this is not as serious as what we are discussing but i mean LOOK AT THEM) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2015/06/23/every-state-flag-is-wrong-and-here-is-why/ ...
@TeamMarco: Watch our latest video starring Rick Harrison of @GoldSilverPawn as seen on @hannity https://youtu.be/txUo5wFveas http://rub.io/6qU2nz
@carolynryan: "I am not proud of this heritage" - son of Strom Thurmond says take down Confederate flag.
@McCormickJohn: Will @ScottWalker break promise to Wisconsinites, if state budget doesn't get done soon? http://bloom.bg/1BAcy73 via @bpolitics
@matthewjdowd: so in the desert of leadership in dc, the only time we get bipartisanship and President, Dems & GOP coming together is to help corporations?