But while all campaigns would like to see more substantive debates, they are hardly aligned in their specific goals, several campaign sources told CNN. Moreover, the proposals some campaigns have already put forward are so extreme that they would effectively redefine what it means to hold a political debate. 

Barry Bennett, the Ben Carson campaign manager who organized the meeting, has told other campaigns that they want all candidates to appear on the same stage for two-hour debates where each candidate is given five minutes for opening and closing statements. 

With 14 candidates in the running, such criteria would mean that more than half the debate would be given over to individual statements, while candidates would be left with just three to four minutes each to participate in a 50-minute debate. And that would be only if the media partners agreed to forego commercial breaks.