not long ago

Not long ago, I was called a fool for saying the economy did not make sense.

Now I see respected "pundits" saying stuff that would have had folks calling you a fool not that long ago. You would have been told to take off your tin foil hat, etc., etc. In fact, anything said would be dismissed, laughed at, and you might well have been (virtually) spat upon.

Now it has become (almost) "conventional wisdom".

Things ain't good. The Republicans who are trying to prevent any public works, infrastructure, recovery program, had best be sure of their stance. They might just roadblock themselves out of office.