Join Florida Veterans for Common Sense and Florida Veterans for Common Sense Fund in celebrating Founding Father Thomas Paine's 289th Birthday! The celebration will be on Wednesday, February 11, 2026 from 5:30 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. at Casey Key Resorts - Mainland, 1660 S. Tamiami Trail, Osprey, FL 34229.

Tickets are $75.00 per person which includes a buffet dinner. A cash bar will be available to attendees.

For sponsorship opportunities go to givebutter.com/TPP2026-Sponsor. Free trickets included with Sponsorships.

Thomas Paine Award

Each year at the Thomas Paine’s birthday party, Florida Veterans for Common Sense presents the Thomas Paine Award to the individual who has made an outstanding effort to assist veterans, defend democracy, and advance the promise of America in the legacy of Thomas Paine. He is "The" founding father, who with Common Sense turned the American rebellion into a revolution for independence, donated his wealth to support the troops, and advocated for a government that exists to make "we the people" happy and prosperous.

Every winner of the Thomas Paine Award stands in Paine's legacy

This year we will be honoring Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat as the 2026 Thomas Paine Award recipient. She has written six books, the most recent being Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present and numerous journal articles warning against the dangers of authoritarianism. In addition, she writes for CNN, The Atlantic, and The Huffington Post.

Professor Ben-Ghiat recognizes that American freedoms are under attack by an administration seeking unchecked power. To stop this attack, Professor Ben-Ghiat, with grace and tenacity, works to protect our liberties through education, expert analysis, and advisory work. Her knowledge of authoritarianism helps us identify and counter threats to our democracy.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Photo by Beowulf Sheehan

HISTORIAN, EDUCATOR, AND COMMENTATOR

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. She writes about authoritarianism, propaganda, and democracy protection. She is the recipient of Guggenheim and other fellowships and a media commentator. She publishes Lucid, a Substack newsletter on threats to democracy in the U.S. and abroad.

Her New York Times bestseller Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, examines how authoritarian leaders use corruption, violence, propaganda, and machismo to stay in power, and how resistance to them has unfolded over a century. She is a consultant for television and film productions, including the Academy Award-winning 2022 movie Pinocchio (Guillermo del Toro, 2022), and the Netflix docuseries Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial (Joe Berlinguer, 2024). She advises Protect Democracy and civil society organizations, including churches and multinational corporations, that face autocratic interferences in the US and around the world.

Thomas Paine Party 2026