As Bay State Governor Deval Patrick took the stage and fired off a speech at the Democratic National Convention, urging voters to grow a backbone in an effort to reelect President Barack Obama, Twitter lit up with a frenzy of energetic reactions.

From the second he took the stage, Patrick’s speech packed a punch that riled up the crowd and drew loud applause.

“Are you fired up? Are you ready to go? I hope so,” said Patrick, before attacking Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and his time as governor in Massachusetts.

“Mitt Romney talks a lot about all the things he’s fixed. I can tell you that Massachusetts wasn’t one of them. He’s a fine fellow and a great salesman, but as governor he was more interested in having the job than doing it,” said Patrick.

Patrick said if Democrats want to put Obama back in office this November, members of the voting party would have to “stiffen our backbone,” and “stand up for what we believe.”

“Quit waiting for pundits or polls or super [Political Action Committees] to tell us who the next president or senator or congressman is going to be. We’re Americans. We shape our own future. Let’s start by standing up for President Barack Obama,” he said. “This is the president who delivered the security of affordable health care to every single American after 90 years of trying. This is the president who brought Osama bin Laden to justice, who ended the war in Iraq and is ending the war in Afghanistan. This is the president who ended “don’t ask, don’t tell” so that love of country, not love of another, determines fitness for military service.”

Patrick ended his speech, which was delivered with a fiery passion that had the crowd on their feet for most of the time, by calling the president a champion who needs to stay in the White House in order for the country to continue in the right direction.

By the time the speech was over, local residents had reacted in various ways on Twitter: