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As a new legislative session opens this week, Connecticut is once again invited to watch Sen. Martin Looney (D-New Haven) do what he has done for nearly half a century: preside, pontificate, and refuse to leave.

There are elected officials who overstay their welcome, and then there’s Martin Looney — the political mold growing quietly in the corners of Connecticut government. You don’t remember when it first appeared, you just know it’s been there forever, surviving every cleanup attempt and thriving in the dark, damp conditions of one-party rule.

Looney first arrived in Hartford in 1981, back when phones had cords, budgets were written on paper, and Connecticut still pretended it could afford things. Since then, governors have come and gone, administrations have collapsed, and entire generations of taxpayers have fled the state — but Looney? Still there. Still “presiding.” Still explaining to us that this time, the long game is finally about to pay off.

Every session feels like a reenactment of an old habit. Same speeches. Same moral lectures. Same assumption that the public just needs to wait quietly while Marty works his magic… eventually… over the next decade… or three.

The CT Mirror calls this “patience and persistence.” It’s more like the dinner guest who won’t take the hint and leave.

Looney has mastered the art of being everywhere and responsible for nothing. When things go wrong, it’s Trump or the Republicans. When things go right — or at least don’t explode immediately — he’s the steady hand guiding Connecticut forward, inch by inch, tax by tax, surcharge by surcharge.

And let’s talk about power. Looney doesn’t need to shout. He doesn’t need to bully. He just waits. Bills don’t move unless he wants them to. Debates don’t end until he gives the last word.

This isn’t statesmanship. It’s the triumph of seniority over results, longevity over accountability, and survival over merit. Stay long enough, outlast enough governors, and eventually people mistake your refusal to leave for wisdom.

Looney has outlasted scandals, recessions, bipartisan revolts, and common sense. He’s been Senate Majority Leader. Senate President Pro Tem. Power-sharing negotiator. Keeper of the keys. Guardian of the process. Every title except the one that matters most: former legislator.

And somehow, after 46 years, we’re still told that without him, the place would fall apart. That’s the real joke. If a government collapses the moment one man retires, that’s not stability — that’s a hostage situation.

Connecticut doesn’t need another session of Marty Looney explaining history to people living in the present. It doesn’t need another year of “just one more term” from a politician who has already served longer than most careers last.

At some point, patience stops being a virtue and starts being an excuse.

And persistence?

Well — even rust persists if you never clean it off.

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