I’m looking at the text right now and studying Thomas Paine for school. He says “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” In this quote, he is talking about his favorite topic of the American Revolution. He wrote it with the intention of persuading American soldiers who were losing morale to keep steadfast to the cause of independence. When he says “summer soldier and the sunshine patriot,” he is talking about men who would serve their country when the war is easy and the odds look good. He is attacking these men, since he believes that a soldier should focus on the goal no matter how hard it is to reach. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot is a man who would fight for his country as long as what they are trying to achieve is easy, and can be done without loss.

Some one who only thinks their country is great when all is going well, yet derides the same country in times of crisis.

RE:
What does Thomas Paine mean by the phrases "sunshine patriot" and "summer solider"?
"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."–Thomas Paine